


Doggone It

by 29PiecesOfMe



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Big Brother Gabriel, Brother Feels, Creepy Lucifer, Family Feels, Gen, Team Free Will
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-23
Updated: 2016-03-07
Packaged: 2018-05-15 17:56:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 45,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5794222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/29PiecesOfMe/pseuds/29PiecesOfMe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A run-in with a Greek goddess leaves Team Free Will with a furry problem. Separated and cut off from help, the boys and Cas not only have to find a way back into their human forms, but also avoid being recaptured by Lucifer and his demons at the same time. And the clock is ticking… AU of S5, lots of whump! A Woof!chester fic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_A/N: This fic is for WhiteWolfPrincess95 on fanfiction.net, who wanted to see the guys get turned into dogs... she also wanted some creepy Lucifer, and some awesome Gabriel, so hopefully all of the above elements have been worked in to her satisfaction. =) This is an AU for season 5, starting sometime after Abandon All Hope but before Hammer of the Gods. No slash, just some family feels =)_

_I don't own the SPN characters. Shout out to Aini NuFire for her always fantastic beta work!_

* * *

 

_ Chapter 1 _

Dean was a trifle irked.

It was already ten in the morning and there was no sign of Sam. Getting up at the freakin' crack of dawn so they could hit the road as early as possible had been _Sam's_ stupid idea in the first place. He'd wanted to put Eureka, Illinois behind them and keep looking for a way to ditch the archangels for good, so Dean had grudgingly agreed.

But he'd been the first one back from their celebratory night out… and Sam had never come back at all.

"I swear, if this is your idea of a joke," Dean muttered, pacing the dirty motel room as he dialed Sam's cell phone for the fifth time. He stepped over Sam's duffel crumpled on the floor, navigated around the bed that his brother hadn't slept in, and hoped he was just overreacting.

Three rings… five… ten… finally Sam's voicemail picked up, and Dean wanted to scream in frustration.

"Sam, where the hell are you?" he demanded into the phone as soon as it beeped. He turned, pacing back the other way, checking out the window almost by instinct as he did so. The dingy glass muted the cheerful sunlight outside but offered a clear view of the parking lot—no Sam. "What, you hook up last night after I left? Dude, this isn't cool! I don't care if you get some now and then. Hell, you should do it more often. But I dragged _my_ ass in early because you wanted to get out, and now you're not here. Staying out all night is _my_ bit. Call me back, right now."

Click.

Dean chucked the phone over to the bed, stormed over to the coffeepot sitting on the motel counter, then changed his mind and hurried back to pick the phone up again, in case Sam called back right away.

He knew he needed to chill out. After all, they'd cleared up their most recent shifter case in record time. Dean himself had met the cutest little firecracker at the bar—and oh, what a night—and Sam had surely done the same. There was no reason to believe a demon (or worse, Lucifer himself) had gotten to him.

Still, Dean couldn't help but check his phone one more time, then let his eyes fall on Sam's unpacked duffel; _Sam never ignored his calls._

"Screw this." Dean snatched Sam's laptop off the faded white bedsheets and sat down. They'd needed to track each other down often enough that the website to locate a GPS was a bookmarked page that he could access easily. As long as Sam's phone was on, Dean would be able to find him. If the phone was off… well, the hunter hated to bother Cas, currently off on business of his own, but if it came down to it, he knew the angel would drop everything to come help.

Which was why Dean had no intention of asking unless he didn't have any other choice.

"Come on, come on…" Dean waited for the site to load, fingers drumming on the keyboard as his foot tapped out a matching rhythm. "Finally."

It was the work of a minute to punch in the necessary information, and then a map filled the screen, zooming in a layer at a time as it tracked Sam's GPS. Dean's eyes narrowed, leaning in, waiting for the final result. When it finished, he sat back with a sigh of relief and then an irritated growl.

"Still in town… Sam, I swear to god…"

The address wasn't even that far from the motel, Dean realized with a deeper glower. He'd gotten all worried for nothing; it looked like just a house, which meant Sam _had_ hooked up the night before. Mentally swearing to kick his kid brother's ass, Dean snatched the car keys off the table and hurried for the Impala.

The drive was a short one. Less than ten minutes later, Dean was pulling up to the curb beside a small but nice looking house at the very end of a cul-de-sac. The hunter sat for a moment, appraising the place—just to be sure—but nothing jumped out at him as demonic or monster-ish. Just a house.

Grumbling under his breath, Dean honked the horn and glared at the door, waiting for his brother to come stumbling out with what had _better_ be a good excuse.

"This chick better have been worth it," Dean snapped to the empty passenger seat, blowing the horn again when Sam didn't immediately appear. Other than a dog barking from somewhere inside, though, there was no movement or response.

Dean frowned. "Okay, you want to do this the hard way?" If Sam thought he _wouldn't_ come right to the door and embarrass the hell out of him, he'd have to think again. Unbuckling, Dean got out of the Impala, storming up to the porch and mashing the doorbell. He heard the barking intensify from inside, but after two minutes of waiting, there was no other response.

"What the hell…" Dean banged on the door now, trying to ignore a growing knot of tension in his stomach. They must just be completely out of it after a _really_ good night, that was all. Yeah. There was nothing to worry about.

Despite the fact that Sam was as light of a sleeper as Dean was, and couldn't possibly be snoozing through this.

"What the hell, did you go out for friggin' coffee?" Jerking out his lock-pick set, the hunter fiddled with the doorknob for a moment, then straightened with a satisfied smirk as the door swung open to let him in. "Sam!" he shouted to announce his presence, reaching a hand back to settle on the gun he kept tucked into his waistband—just in case. "Hey! You here?"

The only response was more barking and the sound of scratching on metal from somewhere inside. At least it sounded like the dog was penned, and probably it wasn't happy about an intruder, but that wasn't Dean's problem. Why wasn't the owner coming to see what was wrong? The hunter made his way through the front hall and into the living room, where a large wire kennel was set up in the corner.

A large, honey colored Golden Retriever was pressed against the kennel door, scrabbling like mad as it barked and whined non-stop. Dean gave it a look, then shook his head.

"Dogs," he muttered, before pausing; there, on the coffee table. That was Sam's phone sitting on the glass panel.

The hunter frowned, continuing on in search of the bedroom. Even for them, this was ridiculously invasive and Dean knew it… but a small voice in the back of his mind kept whispering that something had to be wrong. Sam should have appeared by now. Why was his phone here, if the young hunter himself wasn't? Sam didn't _do_ things like this. He never had.

The house wasn't that big, though, and it took less than two minutes for Dean to irrefutably determine that he was, in fact, alone.

Maybe Sam _had_ gone out for coffee… yeah. That was it. No need for Dean's heart to be pounding with multiplying anxiety. "Damn it!" he snapped, stepping back into the living room. "Sam, where the _hell_ are you?"

There was a huff from the wire crate, and then the dog whined again. Dean turned to glare at the animal, then blinked when it suddenly raised one furry front paw.

"Does it look like I have any treats to give you?" Dean grumbled, spreading his arms. The dog lowered its paw and barked again, two short, deliberate barks. Despite his dislike for dogs, Dean couldn't help but snicker. "What is this, one for yes, two for no?"

One bark.

This time, Dean paused, a tingle in the back of his neck that he didn't at all enjoy. He and the dog stared at each other, and the animal was being far too intense about it.

"Don't suppose you've seen my brother, have you?" he asked, holding a hand up over his head to indicate Sam's height as he took a step closer to the cage. "Tall, dorky, pain in my ass?"

The dog barked once, but not before shooting Dean a look that the hunter would have _sworn_ was a bitch-face, if that were even possible in a dog. It reminded him so much of Sam that he almost wondered-

Dean let out a sharp burst of laughter and shook his head to end _that_ ridiculous train of thought.

"Nah," he decided. "There's no way. You know, for a second there, you kind of looked like Sammy."

And damn it all, if the dog didn't roll its friggin' eyes. With one more impatient bark, it raised a paw again, and that was all it took to send Dean lurching towards the kennel. He fell to his knees in front of the door, hands resting on the wire lid as he demanded,

" _Sammy_?"

The dog went nuts, booming woofs hurting Dean's ears as it— _he_ —scrabbled at the wire door locking him in. Dean swore, jerking the latch of the pen free and throwing the door open, only to be bowled over by a massive golden form.

"What the _hell_ happened?" Dean shouted, struggling to push the animal off of him. No, damn it, not 'the animal', his _brother_! "Sam! What happened? Is it a witch? I hate witches! Where is she? Dude, _calm down_!"

Not that he was being particularly calm himself! His brother was a _dog_. How did these things even _happen_ to them!? Finally managing to get a clearly panicking Sam off of him, Dean jerked his cell phone out of his jeans' pocket. He hadn't wanted to bother Cas with this, but damn it!

"Dean." Cas's voice was distracted but he'd picked up after only two rings. "I got your message last night. The shifter is dead?"

"Yeah," Dean snapped, the case they'd just finished already driven from his mind by the more pressing problem. "Look, I know you're off trying to find Gabriel-"

"Dean, I've told you several times now that I appreciate the offer to help, but this is something I need to do-"

"-On your own, yeah, I got it, Cas. This isn't about that. I know you're busy but I think something's gone really wrong."

"Wrong?"

Even over the phone, Dean could hear Cas's concern; he could almost see the angel stopping in his tracks, prepared to drop everything—once again—in order to help them. Damn, he wished things hadn't resorted to that, but Sam was licking Dean's hand. This couldn't wait.

"Not like… you know, _Lucifer_ wrong," the hunter assured his friend, pushing Sam's muzzle away and wiping his hand off on his jeans. "Look, we're at… um…" Scrabbling to find the bit of paper he'd written the address down on, Dean relayed the information to Cas. He'd barely finished when there was a feather-light flapping of wings, and the angel was there.

"Yes, I've found you," Cas said into the phone, voice solemn and expression intense.

Dean rolled his eyes. "Uh-huh," he grumbled, hanging up and stepping forward. "Cas, we got a problem."

The angel's gaze was already sweeping the living room with a prepared wariness, but he paused as his eyes lit on the Golden Retriever. Cas frowned and tilted his head.

"Why is Sam a dog?"

Padding closer to sniff the angel, Sam started whining again in obvious distress, while Dean felt his heart sink.

"You can tell it's him?"

"Of course," Cas answered, destroying Dean's last hope. He himself might have been wrong, and it could have been just a crazy coincidence after all, and this wasn't actually his brother in dog form. But if Cas said that it was, then it was.

"Well, this is just friggin' fantastic!" Dean snapped, turning his back and running a hand through his hair. "So, what, are we looking at a witch? Is this a spell? Some kind of curse? What?"

Sam barked, sounding frantic, as the angel listened and nodded.

"Hmm. He doesn't know. He just woke up like this."

Dean was about to make a smart remark about how Cas could possibly know that, then thought better of it. So the angel could understand animals. Why was he even surprised? "Fine, more important question: can you turn him back?"

"I can try," Cas replied, shifting as though about to reach for Sam, but a loud bang made them whirl around. In the doorway, a woman stood with hands on hips and an eyebrow arched. Sam's barking intensified, interspersed with whines and growls. Dean didn't need the angel's ability to talk to dogs to know that his brother was pointing out the culprit, and he'd drawn his gun before anyone else had time to move.

"Who the hell are you?" he demanded, the blonde's forehead directly in his crosshairs. She didn't seem frightened or surprised, merely turned her haughty look his way.

"I could ask you the same," she said. "This is my home, after all. You're the intruder."

Beside him, the angel straightened. "Ah… of course…" he said, exasperatingly calm given the situation.

"Of course what?" Dean snapped. "You know her?"

"We've never met in person, but yes," Cas explained with a shrug, as the woman began to smile. "This certainly explains a lot."

"Hello, angel," the woman greeted him, smirking. "I must admit, I thought it would take longer for you to show up. So you know who I am, do you?"

"I do… Circe."

The woman's smirk widened, obviously a confirmation, but Dean felt as lost as ever. Sam whimpered, taking a step back closer to his brother, which wasn't exactly a reassuring sign. The hunter narrowed his eyes. "That supposed to mean something to me?"

"She's a Greek goddess," Cas said, eyes not leaving the woman. Dean saw the angel's hand twitch as though about to draw his blade. "Well known for turning her lovers into animals."

Together, he and Dean looked down at Sam, who whined and ducked his head. Dean shook his head, snorting with impatience. "Damn it, you sure know how to pick 'em, Sammy. Alright, lady, turn him back. Now!"

"Oh, sorry, Dean. That's not going to happen."

"Dean," Cas murmured, tensing even more, but the hunter was already taking a step towards the goddess, and his face was turning dark.

"Oh, believe me, it's going to happen."

"Dean-"

"The question is," the hunter barreled on, ignoring Cas, "do you want to do it the easy way, or the hard way?"

For a moment, Circe just stared at Dean, chin tipping ever so slightly as she appraised him, and then she began to laugh. It was hardly the reaction that the hunter had been hoping for. He frowned, cocking his gun to show her that he meant business, even though he doubted a bullet would do much good against a goddess. It'd feel damn satisfying, though, and should give Cas enough time to fly over there and smite the hell out of her.

"You know," Circe said, still laughing, "I do believe the young lion is serious! Come now, little Lionheart. Did you honestly believe I wasn't prepared for the possibility of you showing up here? Or your ever faithful angel?"

What? Dean straightened slightly, glare deepening. "What the hell are you talking about? How did you..."

He trailed off then, eyes sliding over to Cas. The warrior angel was watching Circe, his own blue gaze tight and wary. "She knows who we are, Dean. This was a trap."

Well, that was just great. Dean's grip on his gun tightened, but Circe ignored him, snapping her fingers. "Come here, Sam."

"You really think he's going to listen to-" Dean broke off in mid-sentence as Sam bounded forward, the Golden Retriever coming to a stop beside Circe. The dog yelped as he sat down, sounding distinctly pained as he looked over his furry shoulder at Dean with pleading eyes. "What the- Sam! Get back here, damn it! Come here, boy!"

…had he just called his brother over like a dog?

"Sam, _stay_."

Sam didn't move. He yelped again, head ducking as his back rounded in obvious anxiety. Dean's jaw tightened as he realized that his brother _wanted_ to come back towards him, but couldn't.

"He doesn't get a choice," Circe confirmed with a shrug. "He'll do anything I tell him to." She paused, smiled wider, then added, "Including jump in front of a train… or rip your throat out. He won't be able to stop."

There was a low growl now, slowly building into a snarl. Dean could see Sam's hackles rising as his lip curled to show his teeth, making it clear what he thought about Circe's words. Cas, however, hadn't said anything, and when Dean shot him a look, the angel met his eyes with a grim expression which silently confirmed what Circe was saying. Okay… this was bad.

"If you hurt him-" he started with a furious glare, but the goddess cut him off.

"I'd rather not, personally. Sam's way too adorable like this. Imagine my surprise when the infamous vessel of Lucifer walked into that bar last night. Oh, yes, I know all about it," Circe added, stony and cold as Cas made a sound of surprised displeasure. "The entire Pantheon does. And I have to tell you, I'm not thrilled. If those arrogant archangels think we're just going to sit by and let _them_ have this world…"

She trailed off with a clear threat, snorting in dark amusement and shaking her head. Cas bristled, snapping,

"We're fighting the archangels, too! If you're trying to keep Sam away from Lucifer, rest assured, we're doing the same. You can release him. We won't allow the Apocalypse to happen."

"Hah. You think you can hold them off forever on your own?" Circe asked with a snort. "He'll give in eventually, I'm sure of it. That's why it was such a stroke of luck to find him. Originally, the plan was just to keep Sam out of the way so Lucifer couldn't use him, and that was that. But here's a hunter and an angel, and it's occurred to me how useful it could be to have some of those on the payroll. After all… you don't want anything happening to dear Sammy, right?"

"Why you-" Dean started, lurching forward in fury at the threat.

"Ah, ah…" Circe held her hand up, prepared to snap her fingers, and there was no way of knowing what order she might give Sam. Dean couldn't have reached his brother before she did, which made any move on his part a futile one. She had them by the balls, damn it all. As long as she had Sam, she had all three of them.

So, Dean froze, and the goddess smiled in chilly victory. "Now, that's more like it. So here's the deal. You two, Dean and Castiel, are going to work for me, and Sam here is going to stay by my side at all times as leverage, just in case you get any ideas. We're going to-"

_"Cas,"_ Dean prayed with all his might while Circe rambled on, hoping the angel could hear him, never sure how exactly this praying thing worked. _"We need to get Sam out of here. She's holding all the cards, man. You've got to fly him out."_

Cas's eyes flicked briefly towards him, a flash of reassurance in the bright blue. Dean took that to mean that he'd heard the prayer. The goddess was still going on—and she was nuts if she thought they would ever take orders from her—but Cas had crouched slightly in preparation to move. Dean kept his face as blank as possible, giving nothing away. Their angel was the fastest there had ever been; she'd never even see it coming.

Everything happened at once. Cas moved like lightning. Dean couldn't even follow the angel's track as he flew forward, grabbing Sam. There was a shriek, a hand falling on Dean's arm as Cas snagged him as well to fly him to safety, and then a flash of light.

Dean felt the swooping sensation in the pit of his stomach, the nauseating, disconcerting feel of flying via angel, but it only lasted for a second and ended with a streak of pain. It was like something else had grabbed hold of him, stopping him mid-flight, yanking him back in. Dean tried to yell, but no sound emerged; from somewhere nearby, Sam yelped in surprise, and then there was another flash.

The ground hit him hard. For a moment, Dean just stayed down, breathing hard. Slowly, he managed to pry his eyes open. That was when he realized that _something_ had just gone very wrong…


	2. Chapter 2

_ Chapter 2 _

Sam Winchester was having a very bad day.

He should have known that "Sarah" was just a _little_ too good to be true; that she'd been just a bit too interested, that she was making herself just a tad too available. It wasn't like he had a hard time picking up women… but normally he had to work for it at least a little, and Sam should have just _known_ that it'd been too easy.

The night itself had been fantastic, or what he remembered of it had been. But then Sam had woken up (though he'd never intended to fall asleep at all) disoriented and furry.

So that was just great.

And then it had gotten even _better_. How silly of him to have been worried about Sarah, who was apparently not Sarah at all. There he'd been, panicking and _barking_ , and she'd just laughed, and ordered him into that kennel… and damn it all, if he hadn't trotted right in.

No word of explanation—and what sort of monster didn't even taunt him a bit, at least enough for him to know who she was and why he'd been captured? Then the woman had disappeared, leaving Sam locked in a wire cage all alone… for hours. Without a food bowl.

The hunter had actually been relieved to hear his brother come barging in, until it had dawned on him in dismay that Dean couldn't possibly be expected to realize that the dog in the corner was really Sam. But even once the older Winchester had figured it out, and even once Sam had been freed of that horrible cage, the day had only taken a nose-dive. Cas showing up had been a brief boost, and for a second Sam had almost let himself believe that he'd be turned back into a human and they'd escape this mess quickly.

Yeah. That hadn't happened.

Another round of being helplessly unable to refuse Circe's commands, the horrifying realization that his brother and best friend were about to be forced into the goddess's service because of _him_ , and then the angel's sudden escape attempt…

Sam had no idea what had happened. He only knew that mid-flight, he'd felt something trying to jerk them back, and then there had been a fierce shove.

Sam yelped slightly as he hit the pavement, crashing into something metal and loud that hurt his head, thanks to his enhanced hearing. His four legs scrambled frantically to find some purchase, only managing to fling bits of trash everywhere before he finally leaped to his feet—rather, his paws—and try to orient himself. The metal thing had been a trashcan. It looked like he'd materialized in an alley, sheltered between two grungy brick buildings where no one would see a dog suddenly appear.

Now, to top off the spectacularly _terrible_ day Sam was having, he'd come to a halt in the middle of a town he didn't recognize, and neither Cas nor Dean were anywhere in sight.

And he was still a dog.

Worst. Day. Ever.

But why hadn't Cas come with him? Sam couldn't smell the angel anywhere, or the familiar scent of his brother.

_"Cas!"_ he tried to say, though it came out as "woof". Cursing silently, Sam looked around again, still sniffing like mad. Surely Cas couldn't have gotten far. But they'd _never_ reappeared in two different places. Unless…

_"Circe,"_ he growled. That would explain why he'd felt that sudden tug, as though Circe had grabbed them and was jerking them back in. The angel must have let go of him, giving him a shove so that he at least would be free.

But Cas couldn't have guaranteed where Sam would land. He could be anywhere. They would have no idea where to find him, and what if Circe did something to them in the meantime? Sam licked his nose, anxiously trying not to remember the awful feeling when she'd commanded him to her side and he could do nothing but obey, her threat to make _him_ attack.

If she'd caught Cas and Dean, they were in big trouble, and Sam needed to get back there immediately.

_"Damn it, Cas,_ " the hunter grumbled, still thrown off by the canine growl that emerged from his throat instead of words. _"You shouldn't have done that!"_

To be fair, he had to concede that it'd been the only smart play; Circe had been holding all the cards, but the hunter hated that Cas and Dean had sacrificed themselves for him to escape. This was his fault, he thought with a moment of anger.

A bus rumbled by on the street outside the alley, and Sam couldn't help but crouch slightly in surprise, backing away from the unexpectedly loud noise. Damn this enhanced hearing. There was far too much going on out there, outside of this alley, but Sam couldn't stay there. He needed to get back to Eureka.

Cautiously, maw clamped tightly, Sam edged forward. So far so good…

When he finally spilled out into the sunlight, it took a moment to adjust to the whirl of activity. The traffic was still making more noise than necessary, and the vast array of scents were driving him crazy. Exhaust from the cars out on the road… grease from the nearby kitchen of some diner… just a faint but tantalizing whiff of what could only be a squirrel.

On top of this, everything _looked_ wrong. The color seemed to have drained from the world, leaving an odd assortment of blues and brownish yellows, akin to old mustard.

Sam whined, lowering his body a little bit more as he looked around. He decided that he _really_ didn't like being a dog.

_"Come on,"_ he growled, muzzle wrinkling slightly so that a nearby pigeon enjoying a French fry on the sidewalk took off in a flash of panic. Sam ignored it, focusing on forcing himself forward. He had to find a sign or something to orient himself; maybe a map, if there was one handy.

…Right, where was there going to be a map just sitting around?

The hunter groaned, picking up the pace as he hurried around lamp posts and trash cans that lined the sidewalk. A fire hydrant caught his eye, but Sam stubbornly trotted past. He was _not_ going to raise his leg right there in public. No matter _how_ much he wanted to claim the damn thing as his own.

_"Dean!"_ he tried to call out, again only managing to bark. _"Cas! Circe, I swear, if you hurt them…"_ They were nowhere in sight. Sam had to resign himself to the fact that they had certainly been pulled back. Hopefully, the angel would be able to deal with her. At least, that was what he was telling himself, needing the reassurance. _"Damn it, where am I?"_

What if Cas had been intentionally sending him as far away as possible? What if Sam had ended up on the other side of the country? Maybe he should call Bobby for help-

_"Great plan,"_ he yipped out loud, spotting the flaw with a sense of chagrin. _"Call Bobby. Without a phone. Or a voice. Or… opposable thumbs."_

Sam hurried on, feeling a sense of desperation tugging at him. Even after having the whole morning to panic and slowly come to terms with the reality of this nightmare, Sam couldn't pretend he was entirely calm.

When the train whistle blew in the distance, Sam yelped, whipping around and tripping over his legs, having two more than normal. He collided with the pavement in a flurry of fur and paws, then scrambled awkwardly back to his feet. A train… if there was a station close by, maybe there would be a map posted, large enough for him to see.

Sam set off at a run, racing down the street in the direction of the train noise. He could tell that he was attracting attention, but he didn't stop. The railroad tracks intersected the road a few blocks down, the gates still standing dormant in the air like waiting sentinels. Sam sniffed the tracks, sneezing at the odor of steel and diesel.

Great… now if he just followed this, it should lead him to a station.

Tongue sticking out as he panted, Sam hurried along the railway, heading in what he hoped was the right direction. It wasn't an extraordinarily large town, but Sam soon realized his mistake; this was just a freight train, not carrying any passengers, and there was no "station". The freight yard that he was approaching wasn't likely to tell him anything. The hunter slowed to a stop, pawing at the ground and whining.

_"Great."_ Sam looked over his furry shoulder, then stiffened.

The tracks had taken him away from the more populated areas of town into a heavily industrial section instead, and while there were several people going about their business, two of them were wrong.

There was no other explanation. They were just _wrong_. Sam felt his hackles start to rise (and what an odd feeling _that_ was), his heart hammering, as he eyed the two men. They wore jeans and flannel, nothing out of place, nothing to suggest evil, but they were. They were absolutely evil. Every fiber of Sam's being wanted to either attack or run as fast as he could to escape these _things_ that looked human but were most certainly not.

With ears alert and body tense, Sam stood frozen, staring at the two men. They were across the other side of the train tracks, consulting together over a clipboard. They hadn't spotted him yet. Demons, Sam thought half in panic and half in fascination. How could he possibly know that, though? It must have been some extra sense that he had as a dog.

The evil and darkness radiating off of them was oppressive, and the hunter was alone without a weapon; attacking them would be a stupid move. Sam had just made up his mind to bolt when one of the demons suddenly looked up, an odd expression on his face.

"Something seem wrong with that dog?" he asked his partner, who spared half a glance away from his clipboard to shrug.

"Nah, they all know we're not human. Dogs never like us," the second demon pointed out, scratching his 70s era sideburns. "Now look, the last place anyone _definitely_ saw those vessels was only forty miles from here, over in Pontiac-"

"I'm telling you, that dog isn't right," the first interrupted. He was starting to glare in suspicion, and Sam took a step backwards. He could hear a low, rumbling growl from somewhere close by, then realized with a jolt that it was coming from him. He'd wrinkled his muzzle back, snarling as he bared his teeth. The vessels… that could only mean him and Dean. They'd stopped in Pontiac on their way to Eureka, only last week.

The demons were tracking them.

With an impatient scowl, Sideburns gave his partner a smack to the head with his clipboard. "Forget the dog, will you? The trail's gone cold and if we don't pick up some sort of sign, we're both dead! Unless _you_ want to trot back to Lucifer and tell him we lost them because you were more worried about some damn dog!"

The demon grumbled in complaint, but clearly the threat of Lucifer was more than enough to snap him back into line. Giving Sam one last thoughtful look, the demon returned his attention to the clipboard. Sam continued to stare at them, nostrils flaring, until the loud whistling roar of a train zoomed by directly in front of him. The enormous locomotive served as both a barrier between Sam and the demons, and a catalyst. With a yelp, the hunter turned tail and bolted.

SPN SPN SPN

_"Calm down… you're a dog, they didn't see you… CAS, where the hell are you? Can you hear me, wherever you are? Cas!"_

There was no response to the prayer, no familiar flapping of wings to herald the angel's return. Sam growled softly, padding slowly through the park. Part of him wanted to keep running, to put as much distance between himself and those demons as he could, but he still didn't know which direction to run. He needed to be smart about this.

_"They said Pontiac was forty miles away from here,"_ Sam considered, trying to think things through. _"And Pontiac was about an hour from Eureka."_ So he couldn't have gotten too far from Dean and Cas. He could make it back on foot if necessary.

Coming to a standstill, Sam stood and panted for a moment. All this fur was making him hot, and his frantic run back to town hadn't helped matters. The park he was in at least had plenty of shade, and he trudged over to a large oak to stand under and cool down.

Soon, he realized, he was going to have to settle for just picking a direction and hoping for the best. He couldn't keep standing around, not when Dean and Cas might be in trouble, and there were demons on the prowl. He'd caught sight of a welcome sign—the town was called Washburn—but he didn't remember seeing that name on their way to Eureka.

_"Hey, man, what're YOU?"_

The sudden sensation of something cold and wet directly behind him made Sam nearly jump out of his fur. He yelped, then whirled around with a snarl, teeth bared aggressively. A Chihuahua was staring up at him, head cocked in curiosity. With dismay, Sam realized exactly what the cold feeling had been.

_"Keep your nose away from there!"_ he snapped, standing at his full height and glaring down at the diminutive dog. The Chihuahua only darted past Sam's large feet, getting behind him and taking another sniff. _"HEY!"_

_"Wow, so weird, amigo,"_ the Chihuahua yapped in a heavily accented voice. It had never occurred to Sam that dogs could even have accents. _"You smell kinda stressed, man. Chill out, relax. What're you? Smell like human, but you look like one of us."_

_"I said stop that! Stop… sniffing me!"_

Sam managed to get turned around again, keeping the Chihuahua in front of him. It looked up at him fearlessly, tiny tongue hanging out of its mouth as it panted, quite content. Then, it turned around, looking over its shoulder at Sam.

_"Hey, man, it's how we say hello. Don't you want to know who you're dealing with? Go on."_

_"I'm not going to sniff your butt!"_

If the Chihuahua could have shrugged, Sam was sure it would have. _"Okay, no worries, amigo. Just trying to be friendly. You're definitely human, no?"_

Sam scowled, but the tiny dog was clearly no threat, and he seemed genuinely curious and friendly, if a little invasive. Besides, maybe he would know how to get to Eureka. Snorting, Sam shook himself out vigorously to relieve his tension, and then nodded.

_"Yes."_

_"Ha! I knew it!"_ The Chihuahua's ears shifted back, then he plopped down onto the ground, rolling on his back. _"Relax, man. See? I won't bite. I like humans. Mostly. Never met one who looked like a dog, though. What happened to you, anyway?"_

Sam eyed the small dog, wanting to comment that a bite from a dog that size would probably do no more damage than a mosquito, but thought better of it. Relenting, the hunter licked his nose and settled down on his haunches. _"I was cursed,"_ he explained briefly as the Chihuahua rolled back onto all fours. _"I need to find my way back to my brother."_

_"Cursed? Ah, bad juju, man._ _I'm Zorro el Poderoso… Zorro the Mighty!_ _I'm a powerful hunter, you know. A real warrior, so you don't want to mess with me! What's your name?"_

The hunter tried not to snort in laughter. _"Sam."_

_"Sam? Cool. Where you trying to get to?"_

_"Eureka, Illinois. Do you know where it is?"_

The Chihuahua—Zorro the Mighty—yapped in excitement, bouncing slightly on his small frame, and ducked his head in affirmative. _"Eureka! Yeah, I know it. The cat next door had a home there for a while."_

Sam's ears pricked up with rising hope. _"Great. How do I get there?"_

_"That cat, more bad juju. Some of 'em are okay, you know? Some of 'em just think they're all that, El Gato-with-the-big-britches. She's one of THOSE-"_

_"Zorro!"_ Sam snapped, coming up to his full height once again as he leaned over the excitable dog. _"I need to find my way back. My brother and best friend might be in trouble. How do I get to Eureka?"_

With a soft whine, the Chihuahua yawned. _"Okay, okay… just chill. It's about twenty miles south of here. At least, that's what the cat said. You can't trust 'em all, though."_

Twenty miles. Sam closed his eyes in dismay. On foot, that was going to take hours. He could only hope that he was wrong about everything, that perhaps Cas's grip on him had merely slipped, that the angel hadn't been forced to push him to freedom before being nabbed himself.

On the other hand, at least he hadn't ended up in California, where he'd _never_ reach them again.

"Awww," a new voice cooed, bringing Sam's attention to a young redheaded woman approaching the pair of dogs. "Cupcake, are you making new friends?"

_"My name isn't Cupcake, it's Zorro!"_ the Chihuahua yapped, ripe with indignation and fury as the woman picked him, cuddling him close in spite of his scrabbling paws. _"Zorro the Mighty! Let go, you damn human, I'm a powerful hunter!"_

Shaking his head, Sam bounded forward, heading due south. If he cut across country, he might make it there quicker, but he also wasn't certain of the exact bearing he should take. Better to stick to the road, which would hopefully have signs and mile markers.

The town wasn't a very large one; the hunter hurried through the streets, racing straight across traffic amid blaring horns and screeching brakes. His heart hammered in his chest but his legs felt gloriously strong. The faster he could run, the faster he'd-

Shit!

Sam scrabbled to a stop, ducking down a side street just in time. Cautiously, he poked his head back around the corner of the bakery hiding him from the main road, ears alert. Sideburns and the other demon were standing only a block away, backs turned for the moment but clearly looking for something.

Had they figured out who he was? Sam shrank back, body quivering with tension. They were blocking the road that would lead out of town. Maybe if he snuck around, detoured through the woods bordering the city, he could pick up the county highway again further down.

Deciding to risk another quick look, Sam crept forward, body low to the ground, and looked around the corner.

The hunter's fur rose on end.

The demons were gone.

Far from feeling safe or relieved, Sam looked around with wary, suspicious eyes. They were here somewhere, and they were getting between him and rescuing his brother. Even if he was currently a dog, this was akin to getting between a mother bear and her cubs. Sam's muzzle started to wrinkle up again, getting a bad feeling.

A sound on the street behind him made Sam straighten, teeth clenched tightly as he slowly turned himself around. A pair of steel-toe boots were standing in front of him. Sam's eyes trailed upwards, growl growing louder and louder, meeting the smug glares of the two demons.

"I told you there was something off about him," Steel-Toe said to Sideburns, smirking in triumph. "Cute disguise. You had me going for a minute there."

"I'll be damned," Sideburns snickered. "It _is_ him in there."

"Clever, but not clever enough." Steel-Toe's grin widened, ignoring the Golden Retriever's aggressive snarl. "Lucifer will be pleased… Sam Winchester."


	3. Chapter 3

This was a most unfortunate and frustrating turn of events.

Castiel fixed the goddess in his bright blue glare, for all the good that did. Dean was beside him, currently going out of his mind; the angel regretted that he hadn't been able to shove the elder Winchester to safety as well, but at least he'd given Sam the opportunity to escape. Without him, Circe didn't have that leverage any more.

Of course, her method of retaliation had come as a bit of a surprise, and a growl was building in the back of Castiel's throat as he shifted on his paws—all four of them.

"Well, aren't you just the prettiest dogs I've ever seen?" Circe asked pleasantly, a smirk on her face though her eyes held a cold fury that was clearly on the verge of erupting. "You're going to wish you hadn't done that, _angel_."

_"Cas!"_ an enormous German Shepherd barked from Castiel's left as he tried and failed to stand up on two feet. _"CAS! Cas, I'm a dog! What the hell, I'm a freakin' dog, DO SOMETHING! Cas, fix this! Turn us back! I don't want to be a dog!"_

The angel felt his fur standing on end, and he sighed internally. He had fur. This was going to make things significantly more difficult. Castiel's icy blue eyes narrowed slightly, muzzle pulling up in a snarl. Circe only smirked wider and with more malicious satisfaction.

"Yes, by all means… turn yourself back. I'm waiting."

_"I don't understand,"_ Castiel snarled, buying time to cover up the fact that he was now a Siberian Husky and couldn't, in fact, turn himself back. _"You can only change your lovers. We have never engaged in sexual intercourse."_

_"Cas, just zap us back to human so I can gank this bitch!"_

Circe laughed, turning to Dean. The German Shepherd was clearly about to attack, but one word from the goddess brought the attempt to a screeching halt. "Stay," she commanded, making Dean bark louder than ever. The infuriated dog was practically foaming with rage, but didn't advance.

_"The hell I will! I'll get you, bitch, if it's the last thing I do! Cas, what are you waiting for?!"_

Castiel's maw clenched tight with frustration as Circe turned an innocent smile his direction. It wasn't working… his grace must have been reduced enough that she was now the more powerful between them. That was a bitter pill to swallow.

"Hmm, it doesn't seem to be working, does it, angel? And no. I can change anyone. I just usually prefer to get something out of it, first." Snapping her fingers and pointing towards the kennel that Sam had previously occupied, Circe ordered, "Get in, Dean."

_"No! No, damn it!"_ But he was already crossing the floor, stepping right into the kennel though he was swearing with all his might. _"Get her, Cas!"_

Abandoning his attempts to change back into an angel, Castiel bounded forward with a ferocious snarl, fully intending to rip the goddess's throat out and hope that would be enough to break the spell. Anticipating his move, though, Circe merely sidestepped, snapping her fingers with deadly menace.

"Castiel, _down_."

The angel found himself instantly hunching down, muzzle low to the ground. He blinked in shock, furious with himself for having obeyed the command. He was an _angel_ , he didn't take orders from pagans! But, it seemed he was as fully ensnared as Dean was. It didn't stop him from growling with useless rage as Circe leaned over and grabbed the angel by the scruff, shaking him hard.

"Where is he?" she demanded. "Where did you send Sam Winchester?"

_"Hey! Get off him! I'll rip you apart, you bitch!"_ From the kennel, Dean was barking non-stop, but Circe ignored him. She gave the angel another fierce shake, hand fisted in his fur.

"Where's Sam?"

Castiel snorted, trying to bat her hand aside, but he could barely raise his paw under the weight of her orders. He was resolved not to tell her a single word; he'd survived unspeakable torture before without breaking, and nothing she did to him would make the angel betray his friend-

"Speak! What did you do?"

_"I flew him away,"_ Castiel automatically answered, before uttering a sharp oath of annoyance. Apparently, she wouldn't even have to get as far as torture. The order to "speak" would suffice.

"Where did you fly him to?"

_"Cas, what the hell! Don't tell her!"_

As though he had a choice. Fortunately, the angel could honestly growl out, _"I don't know. When I felt you grab on, I let go of Sam and gave him a push. I don't know where he landed. It could have been anywhere."_

The hand in his fur clenched tightly enough for the angel to let out a yelp, though it was barely audible over Circe's wild shriek. It hurt Castiel's ears, nearly blinding him with pain, but the scream only intensified as the livid goddess hauled him up with surprising strength. Castiel scrabbled to escape her hold, cold blue eyes locked on the cage she was dragging him towards, but it did no good. Dean, muzzle on the floor as he tried to cover his ears with his forelegs against the ear-splitting screech, couldn't get out of the way in time as Circe thrust Castiel into the kennel with him.

"You're not nearly as powerful as you think, angel!" the goddess raged. "You couldn't have sent him far!" Slamming the wire door closed, Circe turned on her heel and swept from the room in a wave of tempestuous fire. The front door of the house banged open and shut a few seconds later, leaving the two dogs alone in the kennel.

_"Cas,"_ Dean huffed, wiggling from underneath the angel. _"Will you move your ass? Damn it, we gotta go get Sam!"_

_"I'm trying,"_ Castiel retorted, accidentally stepping on his friend as he attempted to get himself turned around. This kennel, he was convinced, had only been intended for one dog. He winced as Dean nearly crushed his tail, trying to scamper fully upright.

They ended up wedged together, Dean growling in annoyance as he wrestled his way to the door. Castiel pressed himself as close to the cage wall as he could to make room, for all that achieved. He could feel Dean's panic, acute and fierce. It was amazing that the hunter was even holding it together at all, though concern for his brother always had been enough to keep him focused.

_"Damn it!"_ Dean barked. He pawed at the door, but the gaps between wires were too narrow; he couldn't slip a paw through, and had no way of unlatching the kennel. _"Cas, I can't reach it! Switch with me, see if you can get the door open."_

The angel let out a whine of agreement, but the process of shifting their positions around was a nightmare. It didn't help that Castiel had very little experience with walking on four legs and Dean probably had even less. The angel ignored his friend's protests as he had to bodily shoulder his way past Dean. Given how much the hunter had always complained about something called a "personal bubble", he knew this was probably making Dean extremely uncomfortable, but there was nothing to be done about that.

Unfortunately, Castiel's paws were even larger than Dean's, and the angel sighed.

_"Hold on… I'm going to try something."_

_"Whatever it is, make it snappy!"_ the German Shepherd complained from somewhere in the back corner, sounding like his muzzle was crammed against the wall. Castiel nodded his furry head, then took a deep breath.

Everything jolted, nothing at all like the normal smooth flight that he was used to. White hot light exploded in his vision, pain erupting from his shoulder blades, and the Husky whimpered in disoriented agony as he reappeared, fortunately on the other side of the cage. He sagged, front legs giving out. The anatomy and physiology of this form weren't fully compatible with his angelic presence; Castiel's wings couldn't integrate properly with this form that wasn't meant for him, which made flight painful, exhausting, and extremely limited.

_"Good man!"_ Dean said from the cage, panting as he stepped forward and shook himself out with obvious relief to have more space. _"Now get me outta here!"_

With a nod, Castiel struggled to his feet—or paws, rather—and approached the kennel. His true form was still aching from the ordeal of forcing his wings to function, and the angel knew with a heavy heart that he wouldn't be able to repeat that trick over any great distances, and certainly not with a passenger in tow. They'd have to find Sam the old fashioned way.

The angel pawed at the latch, frustrated that he couldn't simply will the door open, as he certainly could have done when he was at his full strength. He'd never thought life without powers _or_ opposable thumbs was a distinct possibility for him.

_"You have to lift the thingy,"_ Dean snapped, impatience making him short. Castiel shot him a blue-eyed glare.

_"I'm an angel of the Lord, Dean. I know how to open a dog cage."_

Dean didn't reply, but the angel felt his friend's anxiety to get free, and he finally resorted to knocking the latch with his nose until it finally slid open. The hunter burst out, a growl emanating from his throat as he stood tense and ferocious. Dean's head whipped this way and that, muzzle wrinkled to reveal vicious looking teeth.

_"Alright, I'm gonna kill that bitch!"_ he snarled, as Castiel sat down and raised a back paw to scratch at his frustratingly itchy ear. _"We can't let her find Sammy! Where'd you send him, Cas?"_

Castiel stopped scratching, getting to all four feet and turning for the door. _"Like I told her… I don't know. Dean, I had to let go of him, or Circe would have dragged him back with us. There's no way to tell how far he might have been flung, or even what direction."_

Bounding in front of him, Dean whirled around to face the angel with an expression of furious disbelief. _"You sent my little brother out there ALONE, as a dog, and don't even know where he is? Are you friggin' kidding me? I thought you were lying to her!"_

The husky snarled back, stepping towards the German Shepherd, impatience dancing in his blue gaze. _"I did as you asked! We needed to get Sam away, now he's away."_

_"Yeah, until she finds him again! Can you sense him?"_

Castiel shook his head, and the hunter barked out an expletive. The angel frowned. _"I don't think I managed to send him very far,"_ he admitted. _"We should be able to find him. Don't you have some way of tracking each other?"_

_"Yeah, it's called a cell phone, Cas! But his is on the table, and mine is in my jeans! Maybe you haven't noticed, but my jeans aren't here right now! …Which means I'm naked, that's just great."_

The angel ignored this last horrified complaint, turning his back on Dean and trotting out of the living room towards the front door. The heavy lock and the door knob would be much too difficult to release with paws, but there was a large picture window in the front foyer. Castiel gave it an experimental sniff, then nodded with satisfaction that they could break it.

_"I got this one, Cas."_

The angel didn't have time to respond before an enormous fluffy whirlwind raced past at full speed. There was a crash, a yelp, and the sound of glass shards cascading to the ground. Castiel ducked, one foreleg over his muzzle, until he heard Dean bark from outside.

_"Aw, son of a bitch!"_ The hunter was glaring at the driveway as Castiel leaped out the now broken window to join him. His expression was so angry that for a second, the angel thought Circe must have been standing there, but when he turned to look, all he saw was Dean's car.

_"What?"_

_"I'm sorry, Baby,"_ Dean whined in distress, galloping to the Impala's side. _"You know I'd never leave you here if I had a choice. I'll be back for you, as soon as I can drive again, I promise you."_

_"It can't hear you, you know,"_ Castiel pointed out as he sniffed the air for any trace of Circe's scent. She was still too far away, which meant they should disappear while they had the chance.

_"Man, we gotta work on your empathy. You SURE you can't change us back?"_

The irony was not lost on Castiel, that Dean would complain about the angel's lack of feeling and then return with _that_ question. It grated on Castiel, the fact that he was helpless against this pagan goddess. The very idea, it should have been ludicrous, and only brought his weakness into sharper relief. Stony, the angel snapped back, _"I can't. My grace has been waning for some time now. I'm not strong enough anymore, if you must know. I don't like this either, Dean, but I'm doing the best I can!"_

There was a pause, then the German Shepherd licked his nose and turned his head. _"Sorry. Look, I'm glad you got Sam away. Let's… let's just go find him, okay?"_

Castiel nodded, brushing past Dean on his way down the driveway; both of them broke into a run, tension flitting between them as the two hurried off after Sam.

They hoped.

* * *

As though it wasn't bad enough she had lost Sam Winchester, she'd also made the mistake of not giving his brother and their angel nearly enough credit. The windows rattled with the sound of her shrieks, as the goddess slammed a hand into the outer brick wall. Her power drew the broken shards of glass back up through the air, melding together and fitting neatly back into the window frame.

It was only luck that no one else was home among these humans she'd been forced to assimilate with. Certainly her furious curses would have drawn attention enough even without the noise. Not caring one bit about this at the moment, Circe stormed into the house to assess the damage. It wasn't _fair_! The dogs shouldn't have been able to escape the kennel.

Perhaps the angel Castiel still had more power than she'd anticipated, though at least he couldn't remove the curse.

The kennel door lay gaping open, mocking her for losing all three of her prizes. Circe moved closer to inspect the cage, eyes still flashing with thunderclouds. There was nothing to be learned from it, though, no hint of which direction the dogs might have gone. She would have spotted them on her way back if they'd taken the same route as her, though. Unfortunately, this didn't narrow it down a bit.

Circe tensed, her head tilting up almost imperceptibly. Someone was here. Though not a sound had been made to betray their position, she could sense the new presence. Whirling around, the goddess raised a hand in preparation to strike, until her intended target registered fully in her vision.

Turning aside just in time, Circe managed to halt her attack on the blonde man standing directly behind her.

"What are _you_ doing here?" she snapped, not in the mood for this extra aggravation.

The man grinned, as dashing as she remembered him being, then swept her into his arms before she could utter a protest.

"Is that any way to greet an old lover?"

Circe was unimpressed. She rolled her eyes, pushing the man away from her. "I'm busy," she informed him, lifting her chin to show just how beneath her she found him. "What do you want?"

"What, I can't just drop in on my favorite girl, just to catch up?"

"Really, your favorite girl?" Circe demanded with an ungoddesslike snort. "I'm not fooled. You didn't come to chat, so just get to why you're here."

The man held up his hands, the cunning smirk falling away from his face. "Okay, okay," he relented. "So I might have heard it through the grapevine that you'd gotten your hands on the Winchesters. Are they here?"

As though she needed that rubbed in her face some more. "No," Circe snapped, giving him a look. "They aren't. And why do you care?"

She wouldn't have thought it possible for his expression to become so serious, having never known her previous lover to be capable of sincerity. There was an intense burning in his eyes now, though, seeming oddly concerned.

"This is important," he told her, which didn't sound like him at all. "Where are they?"

"You know, you're the only lover I've ever taken who I couldn't turn," Circe pointed out with an air of nonchalance, her mind shifting back to that peculiar puzzle as it did every time he showed up out of the blue for a romp. "Why is that?"

"You're not answering the question, Circe."

"Neither are you."

The man's mouth twitched, then quirked upwards. He shrugged, his familiar cheeky air starting to return. "Hey, it's how I roll. I'm just special, baby… I thought you knew that." He tipped her a roguish wink, making Circe turn away from him with exasperation. There was a chuckle from behind the goddess, and then he went on, "So, the Winchesters?"

" _I_ caught them, fair and square. They're mine. If you think I'm going to just hand them over to you because you bat your eyelashes-"

"Look," he interrupted with the first tone of impatience. "There's no love lost between me and those Winchesters. I'm not going to take them off your hands. You can keep them."

A pause hovered in the air, and Circe turned back around, arms crossed. One eyebrow rose, as she waited for him to finish. The man rolled his eyes and relented.

"But there might have been an angel with them," he finally admitted. "Yea high, trench coat, no sense of humor?"

"Yes, there was an angel," Circe agreed, puffing her chest out with a pleased smirk. An angel who hadn't been able to get the best of her. "So?"

Her old lover stepped in closer, hands coming up to take her upper arms with a gentle squeeze. Once again, that oddly intense burn in his eyes bored into the goddess. "So… what did you do with him?"

Circe stared at the man, confused by this entire line of conversation. "What do you think I did to him?" she asked. "I turned him into a dog. You know, you were going to be a pig. The cutest little piglet imaginable."

"Wait, you mean it worked?" he asked in obvious surprise. "You changed an _angel_?"

"Yes." With a smirk, Circe allowed herself a brief moment of triumph, but that all too quickly faded back to anger and frustration. What was the use of being so powerful if she couldn't keep them within her grasp? "But he escaped with the Winchesters, if you must know."

The man's grip tightened briefly as a shadow of frustration crossed his face, but he released her quickly and turned around, a hand running through his hair. Circe had never seen him lose his composure even this much before, and it was starting to annoy her that he was getting so involved with this.

"And when I catch them again," she warned him, her voice rising, "I'm going to _keep_ them. I meant it. You can't have them. Perhaps you haven't heard what's at stake here. The _archangels_ are looking for those Winchesters, and if they find them, they're going to use them to end the world as we know it, and I refuse to let that happen. This world doesn't belong to the archangels-"

"And you think you're going to stop it by getting in their way?" he demanded, whirling back around with a pleading expression. "Circe… baby… think about this. You do _not_ want to get involved. You think you can keep the Winchesters hidden forever? Michael will find them… or worse, Lucifer. They'll _kill_ you. It's not worth it, this is a terrible idea. Just… let destiny do its job!"

"Destiny?" the goddess scoffed, drawing herself up even more in regal ire. "I'm a goddess. _I_ am destiny. Don't underestimate my power."

The man strode back towards her, a grim set to his jaw. "Don't underestimate _theirs_."

Stung, Circe pulled away before he could take her arms again. She glared at him with frosty eyes. "You're a coward," she grumbled. "Get out. Maybe you're content to just stand by, but _I_ am _not_."

For a moment, he seemed torn between arguing further and giving in to her willfulness. Circe continued to glower at him until he finally sighed and shook his head.

"At least let me know when you've caught them," he said. When she opened her mouth to protest again that they were _her_ captives, he held up his hands. "You can keep the Winchesters, okay? You want to step in that pile of crapola, then I can't stop you. But I want the angel. Deal?"

What was with him and that angel? Circe regarded him for a while, trying to read past the perpetual mask that her lover always wore. She was considering refusing—after all, she could always use the angel to make sure the Winchesters stayed in line—but the man took her arms again, pleading in his eyes.

"Circe… please. If the archangels find the vessels, they won't need _him_. They'll kill him. Just give him to me. It's no loss for you."

Whatever. The goddess shrugged. "Fine."

The grin returned to his face and he nodded once, then turned to go. Circe watched him, then suddenly called out, "Why do you care so much about that angel, Loki?"

Her lover turned around, smirking as his golden eyes caught her once more.

"Because he's a royal pain in my ass," he answered, "and I don't want anything to happen to him."

That didn't make any sense, but by the time Circe could open her mouth, Loki was already gone.


	4. Chapter 4

Sam fought as hard as he could to get away; his teeth were bared, enraged barks and growls ripping from his throat as he tried to twist free of the demons who dragged him along. The belt looped around his neck made it dangerous to struggle too fiercely, but the threat of being handed over to Lucifer was even worse.

He didn't even fully register the enormous old brick manse they'd ended up at, until the demons jerked him up the front steps. A startled blue jay took off in a flurry of wings but nothing else moved, probably frozen in fear at the evil radiating from the black-eyed pair. It was almost overwhelming to Sam, and he understood now why animals stayed clear.

"Hold on to him," Sideburns grunted, pushing the heavy front door open. Steel-toe had a firm grip on the free end of the belt, keeping it taut so that Sam couldn't shake it loose. A body was lying inside the foyer, half hidden so that only the feet were visible from his vantage point. Even from there, Sam could smell the horrible odor of death. As he was dragged inside, forced to keep up so that the belt didn't choke him, the hunter was able to see the rest of the body.

It was an elderly gentleman, dressed in a blue dressing gown and slippers; probably the owner of the house, but his expression of terror etched onto a ghostly, unmoving face as sightless eyes stared up at the ceiling confirmed Sam's fear: it was too late to save this one.

_"You won't get away with this,"_ the hunter snarled, before trying, _"Cas! Cas, can you hear me?! Help!"_

The desperate prayer wasn't likely to do him much good. If Cas had been able to reach him, he would have done so by now, surely. Sam didn't know if the angel simply couldn't hear him for some reason, or if he was actually incapacitated, which was a much more terrifying thought.

"Did you tell the boss?" Steel-toe grunted, using both hands to drag a still struggling Sam farther into the house, leaving the corpse of the owner behind in the foyer.

"Yeah, he knows. He'll probably be here any time, let's just get this mutt downstairs-"

"That won't be necessary."

Sam froze. Beside him, the two demons had straightened up, also falling still with their own intimidated trepidation. All sets of eyes locked onto the newest speaker, sitting in the blue, leather armchair by the fireplace in the living room they'd just entered. Sam gulped.

Lucifer.

The Devil's vessel was looking threadbare, but that only added to the horror of the vision he made. Although Lucifer was smiling, it did nothing to ease his appearance. Sam took a step backwards; an icy dismay settled over him. The movement seemed to stir Steel-toe, as his grip hardened on the belt he was using to collar Sam. The demon cleared his throat.

"Sir, we- we've brought you Sam Winchester. We've determined that this _is_ him, he's been turned into a-"

"Yes, I can see it's him," Lucifer informed the demon, not pulling his intense gaze away from the dog. Sam wanted to whimper under the scrutiny. His heart was starting to race, instinct demanding that he either bolt or attack the threat—and attacking the fallen archangel would do no good at all.

The hunter took another step back as Lucifer rose to his feet. The Devil moved like a snake, smoothly and coolly slipping towards them as his smile only stretched all the wider at Sam's attempt to pull away. When his hand reached out, Sam yelped and tried to scramble backwards. Steel-toe was holding him tight, though, and he had nowhere to run.

"Now, now, Sam," Lucifer crooned, setting a heavy palm on the Golden Retriever's head. "There's no need to get upset."

Sam could feel his body shaking slightly from both fear and a desire to fight; he didn't like the Devil's hand on his head, didn't like the display of dominance that he couldn't shrink away from. Even worse, he could _feel_ his limbs grow heavy, felt Lucifer's power holding him still, preventing him from running. The dog's tongue flicked out to lick his nose in discomfort.

"Take the belt off," Lucifer ordered the demon, not moving his hand. Sam growled as Steel-Toe hurried to obey. "Are you going to be a good boy, Sam?"

_"Get your hands off of me,"_ Sam snarled, hackles rising at the very idea of being called "good boy" by Lucifer.

The archangel merely raised his eyebrows, lips quirking up. "You haven't lost your fight, at least. That's good." The hand on Sam's head didn't move, and neither did Sam. Something between a growl and a whine slipped up his throat, though, when Lucifer's free hand came to stroke the hunter's neck.

_"Stop it,"_ Sam barked hoarsely. _"Stop it right now."_

"Relax. I'm not going to hurt you," Lucifer said with a smile, fingers lazily slipping through Sam's fur. His movements were becoming more insistent, and Sam barked a furious warning. Still, the archangel didn't stop or move his hand from Sam's head, and he still couldn't move away with all that paralyzing power coming to bear on him. "Good boy…"

A shudder raced through the dog, disgust and fear leaving him cold. All he wanted was for Dean and Cas to save him from this horror, and oh god if Lucifer didn't get his hands off of him pretty soon…

_"I said… Stop. It."_

To his surprise, Lucifer did pause, taking a minute to squat down in front of Sam, shaking his head. "When will you learn to trust me?" the archangel asked.

_"I'm supposed to trust you after your two goons here kidnap me?!"_ Sam barked. _"Let me go, and we'll talk about trust!"_

"I can't do that, Sam," Lucifer informed him with what sounded like a touch of regret, but which Sam didn't believe for a second. He was so distracted by the horrible way the Devil resumed his stroking and petting that Sam almost missed the fact that Lucifer was actually answering him.

Of course… Even Cas had been able to understand what he was saying, as a dog. Sam would have to be careful.

By now, Lucifer's wandering fingers had slid under Sam's chin, scratching in what _would_ have been an incredibly satisfying way, had it not been the Devil. The hunter whined, closing his eyes to shut out the nightmare. He wanted to vomit; there was nothing pleasant about this at all.

"But, you know," Lucifer went on with a musing expression, "I could change you back, easily. One 'yes' from you-"

_"No way!"_ Sam snarled, shuddering as the archangel delicately brushed one furry cheek. _"Not now, not ever."_

The Devil shrugged, not appearing overly concerned. "You're not ready to accept your destiny quite yet. I understand. You'll agree eventually, you know. Given the right push."

Stiffening, Sam tried to take a step back, but Lucifer's hand resting firmly on top of his head seemed to be keeping him in place with more than just a physical force. _"What's that supposed to mean?"_ he demanded, though the hunter wasn't sure he actually wanted to know.

"Oh, nothing." Lucifer couldn't quite hide the smile, which only chilled Sam all the more. Nearby, the demons were exchanging silent looks in obvious confusion at what must have appeared to be a one-sided conversation, but they were now the least of Sam's concerns.

Thankfully, the archangel moved his hand at last, now rubbing both sides of Sam's face and ears. The oppressive power holding him down was lifted, though Lucifer was still too close for him to attempt running for it.

"I'm surprised, though," Lucifer added, eyes widening with what couldn't pass for innocence. "It's so rare to see you without Dean around. Or Castiel; I hear he's been spending a lot of time with you boys. I wonder where those two might be… I wouldn't mind having a… chat… myself."

Sam's blood ran cold, hackles standing up fully—no way to mask his rage and fear. A chat with Lucifer was likely a death sentence, or worse. The barely concealed threat brought another low, whining growl to Sam's throat, but it only made the archangel chuckle.

"Sam, Sam. You know I'd never do anything to harm you, and there's no reason for Dean or Castiel to get hurt, either. I mean, as long as they're willing to be reasonable… which, in this case, means not trying to fight me…"

_"Yeah, like Dean's going to do that,"_ Sam snorted, jerking his muzzle away from Lucifer. _"You're not getting anywhere NEAR them."_

"Is that so?"

The question was posed mildly, but there was an undercurrent of excitement that Sam doubted he would have detected as a human. He could almost _smell_ Lucifer's anticipation, and in a split second he realized that as much as it would make the archangel's job easier for Dean and Cas to simply surrender, there was at least a part of him hoping for an excuse to hurt them.

And worse… they both knew he could.

_"Don't you TOUCH them."_

Lucifer didn't reply this time, just lazily returned his attention to stroking Sam's long fur. The hunter hated him for it, hated the flippancy with which the Devil held him in place and petted him, as though this was no big deal at all. He hated Lucifer for threatening his family, and he hated him for being excited to do it, _knowing_ that neither Dean nor Cas would give in to him.

"Oh, Sam. You'll understand someday. Everything I'm doing, I'm doing for _you_ , too. The gift I can offer you, the rewards you'll be given… you can't even imagine the wonders in store, when we're truly one-"

Without stopping to think, the Golden Retriever gave in to the instinct he'd been feeling since the moment Lucifer walked into the room; he twisted his head and bit down on the Devil's hand as hard as he possibly could.

A bellow filled the room, flooded with surprise and rage. Sam tasted blood. Though he knew he hadn't done any actual damage—not to an archangel—the hands stroking him were torn away, and the hunter bolted for the door. The demons who'd been standing by uselessly waiting for further orders scrambled to go after him, but it was clear that they were just as taken aback as Lucifer. Sam dodged through them, hearing the archangel's shouts chase him out the door.

Luck seemed to be with him for once, as he managed to evade the three, racing past the corpse in the foyer and burst out of the old manse. With fear and determination, Sam galloped full tilt down the long driveway towards the street with Sideburns and Steel-toe in pursuit.

_"Sam! Hey, muchacho! The ditch! Around the corner! Get in the tunnel, I'll distract 'em!"_

Sam didn't stop to question how or why Zorro had reappeared, nor did he hesitate to follow the advice. Whipping around the gate that stood at the foot of the house's driveway, Sam raced along the short stretch of fence and splashed ankle deep into the drainage ditch that ran parallel to the road. The "tunnel" was nothing more than a metal culvert pipe that burrowed into the side of the hill, barely big enough for Sam. He wiggled into it nonetheless, managing to turn himself around and hunch down deep within the darkened hiding place.

If they had seen him go in, though, he would never be able to squeeze all the way through to the other side…

Sam held absolutely still, listening with all his might. He hoped suddenly that Zorro wasn't going to get himself hurt.

"What th- damn it! Get outta here, you mangy mutt!"

From his vantage point, Sam watched as the two demons tripped into view, having apparently stumbled over the diminutive Chihuahua who'd gotten underfoot. There was a yelp of pain that made Sam's heart clench with guilt. But then, Zorro was tearing back up the other road, and the demons were casting frustrated looks in all directions.

"You don't think…" Sideburns said, pausing to scratch his head. "You don't think he just turned into that little rat-dog, do you?"

"What? Of course not, don't be a moron! …I mean, I don't think he did. Do you think he could do that?"

"Where did he go?"

Sam shrunk back into the pipe a bit more at the sound of Lucifer's voice adding to the mix. He could only pray that Cas's warding had stuck to him during the transformation, because if Lucifer could sense him, he was done for.

No one made a move towards the ditch, though, the demons contenting themselves to bluster about a smaller dog that had just run off. Sam could almost smell Lucifer's impatience. These two would be lucky to survive serving him.

"He was turned into a dog by either a powerful spell, or the _goddess_ ," Lucifer said, using the word like it had a vile taste. Sam didn't dare move as those icy eyes brushed over the pipe he was hiding in, then moved on. "He hasn't changed forms on his own. Sam couldn't have gone far… _find_ him."

Sam still couldn't relax as the two demons hurried off down the road in search of him. Lucifer stood still as though casting out with his senses, displeasure evident on his face. The wards must have held after all. Sam's keen ears could just make out the brush of wings when Lucifer finally disappeared as well, but he continued to hold his breath in the dark. He wanted nothing more than to flee but wasn't sure yet if the coast was truly clear.

_"Whoa, man, that was intense!"_

Sam bit back a yelp of surprise as something small and furry squeezed its way past him in the crowded pipe. He couldn't see much of Zorro's face in the shadows, but the Chihuahua didn't sound nearly as frightened as he should have. Sam cocked his head.

_"Are you crazy?"_ he asked the tiny dog. _"Those were DEMONS."_

_"Right? Loco, man… loco. I hate those things, they don't smell right. Don't feel right, you get me? Just… ugh, evil."_

That was an understatement. Sam was nudging the other dog with his nose before he even knew what he was doing, assessing for anything broken from the demons' heavy boots. Zorro whined softly. Again, the hunter felt a stab of guilt.

_"You shouldn't have done that,"_ he murmured, assuring himself that there were no worse injuries than some bruises. _"But thank you. How did you even find me?"_

The little dog gave himself a shake—a ginger one—and then grinned up at Sam like it was no big thing, like he hadn't just gone up against the Devil. Or at least the Devil's ankles.

_"I told you! I'm Zorro el Poderoso! I'm a mighty hunter! Besides… you're the only thing in this town that smells like a dog-human. Not natural. But loyal, good, not like those demons. I'll get you back to your brother. Hermanos, you know? Sounds like fun!"_

Sam was pretty sure that "fun" was the last word he would use to describe his current situation. But he couldn't wagging his tail slightly in amusement at the fiery little Chihuahua.

_"Don't you have an owner—I mean, a human to get back to?"_

A growl filled the tunnel. _"She calls me Cupcake! And makes me wear sweaters! She put me in a BATHROBE, you hear me? I'm not going back, I'm going on a quest!"_ Without waiting for Sam's response, Zorro limped forward, nails clicking on the metal tunnel. He stopped at the gaping opening, tail high and alert as he looked around.

Turning to glance over his shoulder, Zorro called, _"Coast is clear, we better go now before they get back."_

Sam nodded. While perhaps not his first choice of companions, he had to admit that he was glad Zorro was there.

Now if only they could find Dean and Cas…


	5. Chapter 5

_"Well, this is fan-friggin-tastic,"_ Dean grumbled, panting in the hot sun. He hadn't ever realized how much fur weighed. _"We're no closer to finding Sam, no idea how to change back even once we find him, Circe could be anywhere, and our nearest friend is in South Dakota. But hey, we could make it there in, oh I don't know, a WEEK."_

Trotting down the road beside him, Cas didn't say anything. He hadn't been talking much, and while this was pretty much the usual for the stoic angel, Dean thought he could smell frustration—which was just weird, in and of itself. Had he not been in such a temper, he would have tried to get his best friend to open up a bit.

_"In fact, stop. Just stop,"_ he finally snapped, drawing to a halt under a creamery's yellow and brown canopy. Dean was pretty sure it had been red and green the day before.

Cas stopped as well, but his ears continued to twitch in all directions. _"What is it, Dean?"_ the angel asked.

_"We're flying blind here, Cas! It'd take a miracle to find Sam like this!"_

The Husky shifted with an irritated look in Dean's direction, and Dean rolled his eyes. _"I don't mean… not YOU, I meant-"_

_"I know what you meant."_ Cas sighed, ears finally folding back. _"I'm sorry I can't turn us back and find Sam."_

Great, now Dean felt guilty. Normally, the angel _would_ be the miracle they needed, and yeah, he knew it was rough on his best friend to be unable to do much, but they didn't have time for this. _"I just mean, we need a real plan."_

_"We find Sam, turn back to our normal forms, and destroy Circe."_

_"…Okay, it sounds great when you say it like THAT, but maybe some specifics would help."_

The Husky nodded briefly and settled down on his haunches. _"I'm afraid it falls to you to find your brother, Dean. You're the only one who would know where he'd go."_

Dean gaped at the angel, at a loss. _"Wh- you're kidding, right? I don't have a CLUE where he'd be!"_

_"Dean. You know Sam better than anyone."_ Cas's blue eyes burned into the German Shepherd, as intense as his human form always was. Dean whined with stress, but the angel repeated, _"You're the only one who could even guess. Forget that we're dogs-"_

_"Kind of hard to friggin' do!"_

_"If you were still human and got separated, how would you find each other? Without your phones. If you had nothing. Forget your technology, Dean. You're brothers. You don't need anything more than that."_

Dean sighed and thumped his tail against the ground. Right. He _did_ know Sam, knew him better than the kid even knew himself. This wasn't the first time they'd been separated, and they'd always found their way back to each other. Usually, they weren't dogs, though… There was always the standing arrangement to meet at the first motel in the phone book, but that would require knowing which town's phone book to look in, and having hands to use it in the first place.

_"He'd go back to Circe's if he thought we were stuck there,"_ Dean mused aloud.

_"But he doesn't know she transformed us. If he assumed we'd escaped?"_

_"The motel. If he's still in Eureka, he'd try there, first."_

Cas nodded and straightened back up on all fours. Dean turned around, looking this way and that. He'd been busy following the GPS when he'd made the drive from the hotel to Circe's house, and everything looked completely different from this level—not to mention that all the colors were wrong. Still, it couldn't have been too far from there.

Choosing a direction based on what felt like a purer instinct than he'd had even as a hunter, Dean led them back down the roads and through the town. Cas followed silently without comment or question. Every time they passed a landmark that Dean remembered driving by that morning, he felt a little bit better, and before too long they were at the motel on the edge of the city.

_"Sam!"_ Dean barked, though it seemed like a fool's hope that it would be that easy to find his missing brother. There was no response. Beside him, Cas looked around and then sniffed the air experimentally.

_"I- I don't think he's here."_

_"Hey, it was your stupid idea for me to follow my gut or whatever!"_ Dean grumbled, before trying again. _"SAM! Hey! Sam, where are you? Sam?"_ Following Cas's lead, the hunter leaned over, smelling the ground outside the door to the room they were staying in, then the doorframe. He was pretty sure the motel had a mouse problem, but there was no trace of his brother's scent, and no sign of him anywhere.

Dean felt his heart sink a bit, hope starting to dwindle—not that he'd had much to begin with.

_"Dean, Sam hasn't been back here. So either I sent him farther away than I realized, or else-"_

_"Ah, ah! Stop right there, I don't want to hear it,"_ the older Winchester cut him off with a glare. _"Maybe he just hasn't been able to find his way back here yet. Or maybe he's just a town or two over, it'll take him a while to get to Eureka."_

Cas didn't reply other than to nod his head, probably wanting to believe the same thing. There was no reason to suspect that Circe had caught up with him so soon.

_"So, we stay here and wait for him?"_ the angel asked, looking around the motel with an air of uncertainty. Dean pawed at the ground, trying to think.

_"No,"_ he finally said with a sigh, licking his nose. _"We should keep looking. I can't just sit here when he might be in trouble. Besides, if we keep moving, Circe's less likely to find us."_ He hoped.

The angel nodded his agreement, then ducked his head towards the door of their motel room. _"You should mark it. In case he comes back this way, he'll know we've been here."_

_"Mark- wait, you mean…?"_ Dean stared at Cas, taking a step back and shaking his head in disgust. _"Come on! That's gross, I'm not going to PEE on the frickin' door!"_

_"Just do it,"_ Cas replied with an air of impatience, nodding towards the door again. _"What's the issue?"_

_"What's the- Why don't YOU do it?"_

_"Because I'm still an angel, even if I don't look like it!"_ the irritated warrior barked. _"I don't urinate. Hurry it up!"_

Dean started to argue, but broke off and looked up with a sigh. _"Fine. I can't BELIEVE I'm doing this."_

The angel clearly didn't get how _weird_ this was, and Dean hated that he was right. They needed a way to let Sam know they'd already checked in here and this _was_ their best bet. Of course, Sam would probably be as weirded out as Dean was himself. The older Winchester was never going to hear the end of this. Grumbling under his breath in low growls and tight yips, Dean moved closer to the door and started to lift his leg, but stopped to glare at Cas.

_"Dude, at least turn around!"_

Cas blinked. _"What? Why?"_

_"Can't a guy take a piss in privacy?! Just turn around!"_

_"I really don't understand… it's a normal bodily function that every animal performs,"_ Cas pointed out as he obligingly turned the other way.

Dean didn't respond to that, looking both directions down the line of doors to make sure no one was coming or happened to be looking his way. Even when he was appallingly drunk, he'd never done this. Which was saying something, actually.

Wanting nothing more than to make this quick and get out, the German Shepherd did his business, marking their motel room with his scent, then stepped away in a hurry. _"We're not talking about this, ever,"_ he griped. Behind him, Cas didn't answer but for a mildly exasperated grunt of assent.

"Hey! Get out of here! Get lost!"

_"Whoops,"_ Dean said, looking up to see the property manager running towards them. His expression was enough to tell Dean that this guy didn't like dogs any more than the hunter himself did. _"Time to scram."_

_"He seems upset,"_ Cas pointed out, cocking his head to the side and not moving.

"Go on, get! No dogs allowed here! Tony, call animal control, I don't see any collars on them."

_"Move, Cas, come on!"_

Together, the two turned tail—literally—and ran for the road, away from the angered manager. Dean couldn't help but grin a bit, enjoying the chase, such as it was. The man didn't come after them, though, and after they'd gotten a few blocks away, the dogs slowed to a walk.

_"That was fun!"_ Dean exclaimed, rearing up on his hind legs for a moment and running into Cas cheerfully. He bounded back and forth, tail wagging as he panted with rather unreasonable delight, before it occurred to him what he was doing.

Even Cas was eyeing him strangely, and the hunter cleared his throat. _"Er… yeah. Just got, uh… carried away."_ Damn, he was already starting to act like a dog. _"So… yeah. 'kay, I'm good."_

_"If you say so, Dean."_ Cas gave him another look, seeming bemused, before asking, _"What now, then? We can't wait at the hotel. Where do you believe the next likely place that Sam-"_

_"Hey!"_

Dean was trying to pay attention, he truly was, but this time his booming bark was anything but playful. He stopped dead on the sidewalk, staring up the road with fury. Cas turned around to see what he was looking at, as the hunter snapped again,

_"Hey! Hey, stop! HEY!"_

_"Isn't that your car?"_

With a howl, Dean bolted, tearing down the street in pursuit of his Baby, ingloriously hoisted on a tow truck. _"Hey! Come back here! Get back here with my Baby! Hey, you!"_

_"Dean, WAIT! Dean!"_

The hunter ignored Cas's calls from behind him, ignored the pedestrians leaping out of his way in fear at the sight of a massive, baying German Shepherd streaking past. He ignored the other cars on the road, and even the seriously distracting squirrels that ran chittering away. There was nothing but his Baby, and getting her back before she was dragged off to some horrific impound.

_"_ _Dean!"_

_"_ _No, no, no, no!"_

It was no use; he was much faster now than he'd been as a human, but he still couldn't outrun the truck. By now it was three blocks ahead and Dean was losing track of the vehicle, and his Baby was gone. The dog's mad dash finally slowed to a trot, and then he sat down in the middle of the street, howling in despair.

_"Dean!"_

Cas panted as he stopped beside the German Shepherd, nudging him none too gently. Dean tried to shake him off, but the angel was having none of it.

_"Get out of the road,"_ Cas snapped, continuing to bully the hunter around the stopped cars and angry drivers towards the sidewalk. _"What were you thinking? Circe is probably the one who had the car moved from her home. She might be watching!"_

Shit. Dean gave his head a shake to clear it, startled and not at all comfortable with how fast he'd lost sight of everything but the car. Damn it, he hated losing her, but he wasn't normally _that_ single minded. _"Uh… right,"_ the hunter muttered, jumping back onto the sidewalk as the traffic started to move again. _"That was… weird. I'm, uh… I'm not sure why I did that."_

Cas gave him a sidelong look, clearly about to say something, before changing his mind and glancing around instead. Evidently he didn't see the goddess anywhere, because all he said was, _"We should get out of sight. I can't sense you, which means the warding I carved onto your ribs held through the transformation, but it might be best to… sit low."_

_"LAY low,"_ Dean automatically corrected him, also looking around. Cas had a point. Even if nothing supernatural would be able to sense them, two huge dogs running around without humans would probably attract attention.

A thought struck him, and the hunter tipped his head towards Cas. _"Hey, remember the manager saying we didn't have collars?"_

_"Yes, why?"_

Dean frowned, thinking back to that morning. It was messed up enough that his brother had been locked in a kennel. Thank god Circe hadn't put a collar on Sam, too; that would have been too disturbing for words. _"Sam didn't have one, either. If someone sees him, they might figure he's just a stray, right?"_

Cas stared at Dean, who rolled his eyes.

_"Rhetorical question,"_ he explained. _"They WOULD think he's a stray. No one's gonna let their dog run around outside without a collar, so if he doesn't have one…"_

The angel cocked his head to the side thoughtfully, a light of understanding sparking in his eyes. _"You think someone might have caught him, not realizing he's a human."_

Dean snorted. _"Yeah, most people don't assume a stray dog might actually be a person,"_ he agreed, heavy on the sarcasm though he knew Cas would miss that anyway. _"And what happens to stray dogs?"_

Again, Cas gave the hunter a blank look, the knowing light fading into questioning. _"I don't know, Dean. This is the first occasion I've had to be one."_

_"The POUND, Cas! They get taken to the pound. It's like a… a jail for dogs. And cats, I guess. What if he's stuck in the pound?"_ The more Dean thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed. Sam had to be as disoriented as they were—probably _more_ so, having been zapped around by an angel. He might not have been as difficult to nab as he should have been.

Beside him, the angel dipped his head in agreement. _"And this… this jail, there's one in Eureka?"_

Dean would have shrugged if he'd had shoulders, but settled for griping, _"How should I know? I mean, most towns have one… or at least most counties, I guess. But that guy at the hotel said he was gonna call animal control, and they would've taken us SOMEWHERE."_

Which meant…

The hunter sighed. Time to bring out the old familiar playbook. _"One of us has to get caught."_

* * *

Gabriel fluttered down to the hotel, looking around. While Circe was out on her dog hunt, the archangel had gone back through Sam's things, still strewn on the floor of the goddess's bedroom. Gabriel wasn't a naturally jealous angel—it wasn't like he'd laid any claims to a committed relationship with the goddess—but it still gave him a strong satisfaction that the Winchester had ended up screwed over.

On the other hand, he couldn't imagine a time when he _wouldn't_ enjoy either of those two getting what was coming to them.

Finding the motel key, and then the motel, had been all too easy. The archangel pushed the door open, poking his head inside to see nothing but an empty room.

Gabriel sighed. Figured. He did detect a whiff of dog but he couldn't have sussed out whether it was one of the Winchester morons or his missing brother. Not that it mattered; whoever had been there was already gone, leaving the trail cold.

The archangel shut the door, heading towards the front office. When he caught up with Castiel, he was gonna throttle his brother for worrying him like this. It'd been a long time since he could honestly say he'd _worried_ about something, or someone. It just figured it'd be his baby brother to stir everything up. Even as a fledgling, there had just been something about Castiel that attracted trouble. It was just one reason that Gabriel was so fond of him.

"Yes, hello… can I help you?" a distracted man asked from the desk, hanging up the phone he'd been talking on. Gabriel swaggered up to him and leaned one elbow against the peeling wood top, offering the man a grin.

"Sure hope so, sport," he said. "You haven't seen a dog or two… or three… wandering around here, have you?"

"You mean the ones I just chased out of here?" the manager demanded, starting to look annoyed. "Were those yours? Look, pal, no dogs allowed on the premise, alright? Those are the rules-"

"Yeah, yeah, blah blah," Gabriel agreed, waving him off. "What did… um… what did they _look_ like? Like, what _kind_ of dogs would you say they were?"

The manager's irritated expression shifted to bemusement, and then suspicion. "You don't know what your own dogs look like?"

"Humor me."

With a snort, the man shot back, "They looked like big friggin' dogs, what the hell do I know? One was a police dog type, the other looked like the Alaskan things, sled dog, you know?"

Gabriel raised his eyebrows. "And the third?"

"Third? There were only two, buddy! Listen, what did you say your name was again?"

Without bothering to answer, the archangel turned and headed back outside, mind already spinning.

This was just perfect. Which two had been there, and which one was missing? If those two assholes had _lost_ Castiel, if something had happened to him, Gabriel was going to make their trip to TV land look like a vacation to Disneyworld.

Or maybe the Winchesters had gotten split up… which meant there was a potential vessel running loose unguarded. Good opportunity for his big brothers to pounce, if they were paying attention. Gabriel rather hoped they were. Or maybe he didn't, the archangel wasn't really sure anymore. This had been much simpler before he'd realized how deeply Castiel had gotten himself involved with this whole stupid business.

Gabriel knew the kid had been trying to track him down ever since the TV land thing, but he wasn't interested in being found. Now, he was starting to wish he'd let Castiel catch up, if it meant he wouldn't be in _this_ mess now.

But if he'd learned one thing in his extensive life, it was how pointless the "should have" game really was.

Shaking it off, Gabriel headed off to continue searching for his brother.


	6. Chapter 6

_"So… you and your hermano are close, no?"_

Sam looked down at the tiny Chihuahua that was scampering along beside him, three or four steps to match each one of the bigger dog's. The sun was high overhead but starting to dip farther into the west as they made their way through the woods bordering the main road that would lead all the way to Eureka, if Zorro could be remotely trusted to know the way. He'd been chattering for a majority of their trek so far, but Sam was getting used to the random Spanish words thrown into the mix.

 _"Me and my brother? Yeah, I guess. I mean, we're all we've had for most of our lives,"_ he replied, continuing to keep a wary eye out for Lucifer. Or demons. Or Circe. Or anyone else who it would be best to avoid while stuck in this form. _"Do you know how much farther to Eureka?"_

_"Hey, man, we're getting close… don't you worry, eh? So… you think he's looking for you?"_

_"Dean? Yeah, he's… he's always had my back."_

Zorro sniffed the air, then yapped, _"Is that guilt? What's up, man?"_

Sam gave the little dog a sidelong look, sighing. He really didn't feel like getting into this right now. It wasn't like he and Dean pretended the whole demon blood thing hadn't happened at all, but they also didn't have lengthy discussions about it. Zorro was looking up with such expectation, though, and Sam realized that the Chihuahua wasn't going to let it go until Sam gave some kind of answer. Gritting his teeth, Sam finally managed to explain,

_"I, uh… I did some really stupid things. That guy back there that you helped me escape from? That's Lucifer. As in, the DEVIL."_

_"Uh huh?"_

Sam shook himself out as they walked, trying to release the tension it brought just to think about all of this. _"And, I'm kinda the one who let him out. There was… there was a demon, and I let her trick me, and I… I just did some stuff that I shouldn't have done. And Dean, he would have had every right to walk out on me after that… and I'm not going to pretend like it wasn't pretty bad for a while there… but he didn't ever give up on me, not really. I mean, we're brothers. That's what brothers do."_

Zorro was silent. Sam didn't sense any judgment from the Chihuahua, but rather… sadness?

 _"Yeah… yeah, that's brothers,"_ the little dog finally mumbled. _"Sorry about the demon, man, they suck. And that Lucifer guy is bad news. But, y'know, glad you got a bro."_

The hunter couldn't help but cock his head at Zorro, who was steadfastly looking the other way. A car drove by on the road beside them, most of the traffic fizzling out now that they were close to the border of the town between Washburn and Eureka. Nearby, a cricket chirped, and Sam couldn't help but break the silence again.

_"So, um… you got any brothers?"_

Zorro let out an awkward yip of laughter. _"Man, dogs almost always got bros and sisters, doesn't mean much. I was like, numero six in my litter. That's a lot for us little dogs, but anyway, we got sold off pretty quick. Never saw mis heramonos after that."_

Sam didn't reply, as he realized with surprise and compassion that the little dog wasn't just sad, he was practically oozing loneliness. _"You miss them?"_

_"Miss them? Never knew 'em! And every human I've had since then was either a spoiled brat who didn't ever wanna play, or princesas who call me stupid things like Cupcake! Dogs aren't s'posed to be alone, man. Not that it matters to ME, I'm a mighty hunter and I'm better off on my own anyway, but still. Nah, don't miss 'em a bit."_

The lie couldn't have been more transparent, and Sam was reminded strongly of Dean. He would have asked more, but the little dog stopped dead in his tracks, tiny body quivering with alertness. Sam stopped as well, turning to him with a frown, before the sensation of evil hit him once again.

 _"The demons…"_ he growled under his breath, hoping against hope it was _just_ the demons, and not Lucifer. _"Zorro, get down!"_ Dropping to crouch on the ground, Sam wiggled forward as quietly as he could through the crunchy fallen leaves to watch the road from between the trees that sheltered them. Zorro was right beside him, still standing so that they were just about the same height. Neither moved or spoke, just waiting.

For a moment, the hunter didn't see anything. He heard another car approaching, this one going much slower than normal traffic, and when it pulled into view Sam thought his heart had stopped. That was Circe's car… could she _track_ him?

Sam held back the whine of uncertainty, but he felt Zorro tremble slightly, either in response to the hunter's emotions or from his own fear. There was no need to tell the Chihuahua to be silent; he was pressed in tight to Sam without the slightest peep.

Preparing to run for it if need be, Sam watched as the car pulled over on the shoulder of the road. Circe stepped out, but there was no trace of victory on her face, and she didn't turn their direction. She was holding a stack of papers, and it wasn't until she started to staple a piece to the nearest telephone pole that Sam realized they must be 'Missing Dog' flyers – of _him_.

She didn't know where he was, then… that was good. Sam was puzzled, though. He'd spent all morning as a dog in her house, and while she certainly felt _strange_ , she didn't have the same scent and sensation that he detected of a corrupted human soul mutilated into something entirely evil, like the demons. Which meant they had to be close-

"Hey! Hey, lady!"

Sam pressed himself even more firmly into the leafy floor of the woods, willing himself to remain invisible to the two demons who had joined the party. Great. Sideburns and Steel-Toe swaggered up to the goddess, cold sneers on their faces. Circe merely turned to face the pair with the same arrogant dignity as ever.

"You've been putting up those flyers all over town," Sideburns said, nodding to the telephone pole that she'd just stapled the paper to. "Funny thing is, we know that dog, and he ain't yours."

"You've seen him?" Circe straightened, brow furrowing. "Where is he? I demand you hand him over at once!"

Steel-Toe chuckled and took a step closer, he and Sideburns taking opposite sides of Circe in an obvious attempt to hem her in. "No, no… you've got that all backwards, sweetheart. We want him. And we're going to take him. And if you know anything about that dog, you're gonna tell us, right now."

From the cover of the trees, Sam was too afraid of making a sound to actually shake his head, but he did roll his eyes. This ought to be good. Clearly the demons had no idea who they were actually talking to, nor the danger they were in. Circe herself only smiled, but it was a haughty and cruel smile.

"Is that so? Well, in that case… I'll give you two demons one warning, and only one. Oh yes, don't look so surprised, I know exactly what you are. Stay out of my way. Sam Winchester belongs to me now, and the only thing saving you is the fact that I simply have no time to deal with you properly."

"No, you don't warn us, we warn _you_ ," Sideburns stubbornly maintained, though he sounded more petulant than intimidating. He leaned in closer, voice low but still audible to Sam as the demon snapped, "But Lucifer sends his regards."

On Circe's other side, Steel-Toe reared back and thrust his clawed hand all the way through her back, piercing the goddess. Sam gasped softly in horror as Circe twisted, ever so slowly, to look over her shoulder at the demon. He wanted her dead, of course, but he still preferred his chances against the goddess than the devil. If he transformed back to a human at her death, and they noticed, the hunter didn't stand a chance against them with no weapons and no way to fight.

Except… Circe wasn't dying. She was smiling.

"Oh, you sneaky little snake," she crooned. "Didn't seem to work though, did it? You can't kill me. Neither of you can."

"What the-" Steel-Toe blustered, staring in wide-eyed horror at the woman turning towards him, impaled on his hand that didn't have a drop of blood on it. Circe jerked herself free, the gaping wound that should have killed her instead closing up as though nothing had happened. Sideburns was backing away, suddenly not so confident.

"What is this? What are you?" the demon demanded, as Circe turned her vicious smile his way.

"You're in over your head, boys." She leaned closer, leer growing, and finished, "But do send Lucifer _my_ regards in return."

A snap of her fingers, and the two demons had disappeared. In their place stood two towering Dobermans, black and lean.

 _"What the hell?!"_ the demon Sam had been thinking of as Sideburns yelped. _"What did you do to me?!"_

 _"What is this!? What's happened?"_ Steel-Toe cried out, trying to turn around to see himself, and ending up chasing his tail. _"You bitch! You-"_

"Scram!" Circe barked, pointing down the road. With matching howls of dismay, the Dobermans set off at a run while Zorro shook with barely concealed delight at Sam's side. The hunter found this rather less amusing, though at least it got rid of their immediate problem. The goddess seemed unfazed at the havoc she was wreaking, as she calmly stapled another flyer to the post, then returned to her car and drove away.

Neither Sam nor Zorro moved for a moment, waiting to make sure she and the demons were both gone. The hunter didn't smell or sense either in any way, and finally the little bundle of energy next to him couldn't hold it in any longer.

 _"Oh man! Oh, MAN!"_ Zorro cried in delight, excitable voice high as he ran in a short circle. _"Did you see that? Did you? Hah! Who's that chica anyway? That was AWESOME, you feel me?"_

 _"Yeah, awesome,"_ Sam snapped. _"That's the one who turned ME. She's not on our side, Zorro."_

 _"No kidding, man, but that was terrific!"_ Zorro ran another circle, before spotting the hunter's expression and coming to a halt. He looked up at the Golden Retriever, still pleased. _"Okay, okay. Well… she's gone, anyway. Come on, Eureka's close. Let's go find your brother!"_

* * *

_"Cas, I meant I should get caught, not you!"_

Castiel gave his friend a stubborn glare, shaking his furry head. He knew Dean was used to putting himself in danger, not other people, but the angel's plan made more sense.

 _"It's a tactical advantage,"_ he argued. _"If this fails, you have a better chance of finding Sam on your own than I do. Besides, I can fly well enough to at least get out of the animal jail; how would YOU get yourself out?"_

Dean eyed him sourly, but apparently couldn't come up with an immediate response. Castiel waited for him to realize that he was right, and the hunter finally growled, _"Well, I don't like it. You're always sticking your neck out for us, and… and I don't like this!"_

The angel could only shake his head, a glow of fondness for the Winchesters warming in his chest. _"I went to Hell for you, Dean. I think I can manage this pound. You'll be right behind, following us back to where they've hopefully taken Sam, and we'll figure a way out like at Circe's."_

With a light whine, the hunter pawed at the ground before grunting in assent. Castiel nodded back, turning to face the road. They'd taken shelter in a wooded park not far from the motel to lay out their plan; the angel led the way out now, with Dean trailing several feet behind and letting the distance widen. He would stay under cover until the animal control officers came for Castiel.

Following Dean's instructions, the angel trotted all the way back to the motel, stopping just in front of the main office door. Inside, he could see the manager standing behind the desk, back turned to the dog. Castiel checked over his shoulder to make sure that Dean was there, but out of sight. A tail disappeared behind a dumpster of the adjacent building, and then the hunter stuck his face back out and woofed.

Castiel nodded back, then called, _"Excuse me! I'm looking for my friend. I believe he might be at the pound and I need you to take me there."_

The manager, of course, heard only the barking of a Siberian Husky. Castiel could tell when the man turned around that Dean had correctly guessed the most expedient way to bring the dog catchers to them. The ferocity with which the human jerked the phone off the cradle, and the anger radiating from him made Castiel suspect that he must have had something personal against dogs.

 _"I'll just… wait here, then,"_ the angel called through the door, not sure what else to do. He wagged his tail, ears twitching awkwardly, before lying down right in front of the office so that the manager couldn't get outside. The anger in the man's tone multiplied. When he slammed the phone back down, Castiel knew he merely needed to wait.

It didn't take long. Soon enough, a large truck was pulling into the motel parking lot, 'Animal Control' emblazoned on the side. Remembering Dean's advice to act friendly and non-threatening so that they wouldn't try to knock him out with anything, Castiel decided to wag his tail a bit more while the two city men got out and approached.

"Hey there, buddy," one of them said, taking cautiously slow steps towards the Husky, restraining pole at the ready. "Good boy… nice and easy now. You're not supposed to be out here."

"Whoa. Darryl, look at his eyes," the other murmured, also keeping his voice light and gentle. "Geez, you hear about the ones that look intelligent, but this one…"

Castiel cocked his head, examining the man who was in turn studying him. He wasn't sure what was wrong with his eyes or how to make them seem more dog-like. When the other man squatted down a little farther back to look him over, the angel's gaze slid to him instead, and the one called Darryl blinked and leaned away.

"Damn, that's eerie. He's pretty intense, huh? You'd almost think he had a human brain working up there."

 _"Hardly. My mind is much more complex than a human's,"_ Castiel couldn't help but retort, a light woof that made the first man smile.

"Hey, you're a friendly one, aren't you? Can I pet you?"

_"I'd rather you didn't."_

"Oh, there's a good boy…"

Castiel bit back a sigh as the two officers reached out and gently rubbed behind his ears. It did feel rather pleasing, actually, but it was also quite strange and he didn't entirely appreciate it. Knowing that a dog would enjoy the attention, the angel tried to relax his tense muscles, but the two men seemed to realize that they were making him uncomfortable.

"He seems kind of nervous," the first man pointed out. "Let's get him out of here. Hey, buddy, I'm going to slide this over your head, okay? Good boy… I'll take it off as soon as we get there, I promise."

Castiel didn't twitch as the loop of the restraining pole was pulled on and secured, merely looked up at man with what he hoped was a peaceful expression. This was not at all a good feeling, but he'd gone through much worse for the Winchesters, and these two didn't seem nearly as unpleasant as he'd expected from Dean's descriptions of 'dog catchers'.

"Good… easy… Okay, Jake, I think he's alright. I'll grab the door. Geez, it's such a shame, what a beautiful dog."

'Such a shame' wasn't the most comforting of sentiments, but Castiel got a glimpse of Dean crouching behind the dumpster, as he let the man named Jake lead him to the back of the truck. The metal box he ended up in wasn't much bigger than Circe's kennel from that morning, though at least it was less cramped without another large dog sharing it with him. Castiel didn't utter a sound as the cage and then the truck door were closed, extinguishing the daylight but for the shafts filtering through enough holes to let him breathe.

The angel waited, listening as Jake walked around to the front of the truck, joining his partner in the cab. The cool metal thrummed slightly as the vehicle started up. He braced himself as it rumbled forward, finding his footing and then leaning close to the edge of the box to look out one of the little holes in search of Dean.

There he was. Castiel released a light puff of relief, watching as quick flashes of black and brown wove in and out of view, his friend in pursuit of the truck. With nothing else to do, the angel laid back down, panting in the nearly stifling warmth of the metal box. This was an even more confining way of traveling than the Winchesters' car, and Castiel decided he would appreciate the relative spaciousness of their vehicle from now on.

All in all, it was an uncomfortable ride that was tediously slow, but the truck finally began to decelerate and then stopped completely. Somebody called a greeting from outside, footsteps crunching on gravel as they approached the truck.

Castiel only had a few seconds' warning, an alarmed twinge in his grace as he sensed the purely evil presence. The back door was jerked open and he was met with the most hideous face he'd ever seen.

The demon—for of course it would be a demon—stuck its head into the truck, a mutilated form that never failed to fill Castiel with disgust and fury. It oozed depravity and a mindless need for violence, twisted features like the face of a living nightmare. The urge to smite this foul creature seemed intensified while Castiel was in this form, and his first instinct was to protect the two humans who had brought him in, the humans who couldn't even see the repulsive true face of the monster.

He could do nothing, though, watching in enraged dismay, as the demon leaned in close to the cage. Castiel's eyes darted to a plastic name badge it was wearing; of course it was possessing one of the pound workers.

"And you're sure you haven't gotten any calls about a Retriever?" the abomination called over his shoulder to Jake and Darryl, examining Castiel with shrewd eyes. "I've been notified that one was spotted in Washburn but might end up here."

That question alone meant this had been for naught, Castiel realized with dismay; Sam wasn't there. He began to growl, crouching down even lower as the door of the metal box he was in was jerked open, his vision filled completely with this paltry excuse for a human disguise. The demon's eyes narrowed, flipping black for half a second.

"There's something odd about _you,_ though…" it muttered with an air of high suspicion. Castiel's growls intensified.

"Hey! HEY! Look out!"

Jake was shouting from the front of the truck, and the demon suddenly flew sideways out of Castiel's sight. A flash of brown and black had tackled him to the ground, and the wildly enraged barking was enough to tell the angel that Dean had also sensed what this thing was.

 _"Dean!"_ Castiel shouted in alarm, eyes widening. _"Don't!"_

It was too late. The dog part of Dean's mind, which Castiel had noticed becoming alarmingly strong, was following the pure, base instinct to attack this thing, multiplied by the evident threat it had posed to Castiel. The scene outside the truck was chaos, as Jake ran around the truck with a restraining pole to snag the enormous, wild German Shepherd. The demon was on his back, holding the furious Dean off of him while a set of bloody bite marks tattooed his lower arm. Castiel started to leap out to help, but the cage door was slammed shut again as Darryl ran past with a second restraining pole, both of them looping the nooses around Dean's neck and wrestling him away from the demon.

 _"Dean!"_ Castiel shouted again. He scrabbled madly at the metal door, snarling in frustration when it stubbornly refused to open. _"Let him go, he was protecting me! You don't understand, this man has been possessed by a demon. You're all in danger!"_

Another worker had emerged from the building they'd driven up to. Castiel saw her lift a gun, and he howled a warning to Dean, fear clenching his heart.

_"DEAN!"_

The hunter looked up, struggling between the two men who had him restrained, but he couldn't duck in time. The angel watched as the woman pulled the trigger… and then Dean went down.


	7. Chapter 7

Dean's head was pounding as he swam through the fog towards consciousness once again. By this point in his life, it hardly even phased him to realize that his limbs were too heavy to move; he'd been captured so many times that this usually came with exasperation more than fear, but this time was different. He didn't feel like he was actually bound, but his hands didn't feel like hands, and there was so much noise.

Slowly, carefully, the hunter pried his eyelids open, waiting for the bright light to dim to a hazy shade, and then for the shade to clear into an actual picture. The first thing he could focus on was a pair of brilliant eyes staring at him from the other side of what seemed to be a chain link fence. Eyes that looked so much like Cas's, except it was a- oh… right.

Dean blinked, dropping his head back down onto the cold, unforgiving surface of the ground. Damn it. He wasn't tied up; his limbs felt heavy because they were covered in fur, because he was a dog. When he caught up with Circe, he was going to rip her a new one.

_"_ _Dean? Dean. Are you alright?"_

Through the sound of a dozen other dogs barking, the hunter heard a scratching noise, the faint jingle of the metal fence rattling as Cas tried to reach a paw through it towards him. Dean managed to push himself up halfway to a sitting position, looking around while fighting a wave of nausea.

So this was what the inside of a pound looked like.

They were inside a long room, one walkway down the middle. On either side, the chain link fences separated each cage, keeping Cas away from him. Even if Dean had the strength to try jumping or climbing the fence, it was enclosed at the top with another layer of the metal, keeping them locked in. As far as Dean could see, every single cage was occupied all the way down the room. He wasn't sure which would make him lose his mind first: the noise, or the smell.

 _"_ _Damn it,"_ Dean grumbled, sitting up the rest of the way and shaking himself out, wishing he could shake off the chill this place gave him. Beneath all this ridiculous fur, his skin was crawling. The pound stunk like death and hopelessness, and it sounded like almost every dog in there was calling out for whoever had dumped them there.

 _"_ _They shot you with something,"_ Cas explained, watching Dean carefully with a haunted look. _"For a moment, I thought they might have killed you, but I suppose they just knocked you out in retaliation for attacking that demon."_

 _"_ _The demon!"_ Dean was on his feet in a flash, rushing to the door of his cage and pressing up against it in the hopes of catching a glimpse, flooded with the innate desire to kill the monster. _"Where did he go? Any sign of Sam? We need to get out of here! Sam! Hey, SAM! Sammy?"_

It was no use; his call was instantly lost in the muddle of other names being yelled in fear, so many dogs crying for their humans. Dean shuddered.

 _"_ _He's not here,"_ Cas replied over the other voices. _"The demon came in once to look at us, though. I can't be sure if he recognized your soul in that body. Demons can get a sense of things, but they can't see true forms the way angels can. But if he hasn't figured it out yet, he will soon."_

Yeah, and that was horrible and all, but Dean's mind could only focus on the fact that his brother wasn't even here. Every second that Sam was alone out there increased his odds of being spotted by Circe—or worse, what if a demon recognized him, and called Lucifer? Anxiety bubbled in Dean's gut, and he bounded over to the fence that separated him from Cas.

 _"_ _Cas, you can still fly a little way, right?"_ he demanded, eyes narrowing on his best friend.

Cas looked down. _"I- I might be able to get as far as the door, but… Dean, this body isn't compatible with my true form, it dampens my power. And since I'm already cut off, I'm not… strong enough like this. My wings won't support us both. I'm afraid we're stuck in here-"_

 _"_ _No, I'M stuck in here,"_ Dean corrected him. He jerked his muzzle towards the far door, imploring, _"Cas, you've got to escape. Get out, FIND SAM! You said if something went wrong, you could make it out of here-"_

 _"_ _Yes, if it was just me!"_ the angel snarled with a fierce shake of his head. _"I won't leave you here."_

_"_ _Yes, you will, damn it! Sammy's still out there. Finding him before Circe or one of those demons is the only thing that matters! I'll be fine."_

It looked like Cas was clearly about to argue some more with him, but another voice joined the conversation, low and despondent.

_"_ _You've only got three days."_

With a frown, Dean turned to the speaker, a dog in the pen across the aisle from himself and Cas. The hunter moved up to the door of his cage, eyeing the older looking boxer that was watching him. Unlike the rest of the animals in the pound, this one wasn't calling out for anyone, merely lying there with a grim sense of resignation and pride.

 _"_ _What do you mean?"_ Dean demanded. _"What do you know?"_

 _"_ _Nothing about a 'Sam',"_ he said. _"Name's Captain, by the way. I know plenty. I know you're not really a dog, and you…"_ He turned to Cas, dipping his head. _"…I know you're an angel. I'd give you a better greeting, but…"_ The boxer jerked his muzzle around to indicate the pen he was being kept in, then dropped it back down to rest on his paws. Dean and Cas traded a look, not sure what to make of this.

 _"_ _Why does he only have three days?"_ Cas asked with a frown.

 _"_ _And how do you know Cas?"_ Dean added. The boxer sighed softly.

_"_ _I can smell angel. The others would, too, but most of these poor schmucks don't know their own names anymore. Our minds go pretty fast in here. And you, human… you came in here causing all kinds of problems. Look around. This place is full, so as soon as they need to rent out another room, one of us will have to go. The humans have to keep you for at least three days, but after that? You bit someone. You'll be the first one they kill."_

Well, that wasn't good. But surely three days would be enough time; Dean hated the idea of spending even three more _hours_ in this miserable place where dogs came to die, the air itself so oppressive that he wanted to join the others in simply howling in insanity. On the other hand, they'd had _much_ worse time frames before. Three days was practically luxurious.

 _"_ _Cas, go,"_ he tried again, glaring when the angel shook his head. _"I'm serious, go get Sam, then come back for me."_

_"_ _And if I can't find him in three days? I saved you from Hell, I won't let you die like THIS now."_

Dean let out a bark of laughter, hoping Cas couldn't tell it was just bravado. _"I'll be fine. Just hurry, before-"_

The evil sensation was overpowering him before the hunter could even finish his sentence. It had to be the demon again, and from the panicked, frenzied swell of barking, all the other dogs in the pound could sense it, too. Even Captain had picked his head back up, one ear cocked as he stared intently at the door into the front.

And then came the screams. The _human_ screams… the sound of flesh being ripped from bone, the odor of fresh blood…

 _"_ _No!"_ the hunter gasped, as Cas closed his eyes. _"Leave them alone!"_ Dean bayed, attacking the door of his cage with all the strength he could muster, accomplishing nothing. His heart sank as he realized there was no way of helping the human workers who were being slaughtered out there. Even if he could get out, he couldn't take down a demon with only his teeth and claws.

Just as quickly as it had started, the screaming stopped, though the terrified barking from the score of dogs lining the pound only intensified. Dean and Cas exchanged a swift look, as the hunter realized that his three days had just expired.

 _"_ _They wouldn't have killed the humans if they weren't prepared to make a move,"_ Cas murmured, barely audible over the other dogs.

Nodding agreement, Dean steeled himself for whatever was about to happen. Even still, he couldn't help but jump slightly as the locked door burst open hard enough to crack the plaster on the wall it crashed into, or keep the horror from his furry face as not one but five demons swaggered through the door.

At the head of the pack…

 _"_ _YOU!"_ Dean boomed as he recognized Meg, his vision tunneling in on her and her alone. He would rip the evil bitch's throat out, given the chance! _"Hey! Open this door, Meg, and I'll-"_

"All of you, _shut up_!" The demon possessing the pound worker pushed his way forward, glaring around at the instantly silent row of cages. All the dogs huddled back away from the evil presence, either whimpering softly or burying their heads down in their paws. Dean felt the same surge of fear, but his fight or flight instinct was hardwired to 'fight'. Since he couldn't physically attack, the hunter went for the next best option.

 _"_ _Why don't you come in HERE and say that, pal?"_ he snarled, leaping at the cage door again so that the chain link fence rattled all the way down the row. _"You're so big and bad, killing humans who can't fight back? Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"_

 _"_ _Dean!"_ Cas hissed from the adjoining cage, not shrinking back but not raising an argument either. _"Don't call attention to yourself! They're looking for a dog who isn't really a dog, remember?"_

"Well, well, what's got you so riled, Cujo?" Meg asked as she walked calmly over to Dean's cage and squatted in front of it with the cool, cocky smirk that the hunter hated so much. "Hmm… you're right," she called over her shoulder to the first demon without looking away. "This isn't Sam Winchester, but he _is_ … familiar."

 _"_ _How about I throw your bitchy ass out a window again, would that help you remember me?"_ he couldn't help but snarl in reply, hackles fully raised and teeth bared in preparation to lunge.

 _"_ _Dean!"_ Cas snapped again, bringing the demon's attention to him next.

"And you," Meg murmured, squinting as she tilted her head to examine the Husky closer. "Your eyes… you almost look like…" She trailed off, studying the defiant angel much too intently for Dean's comfort. The demon's eyes flicked to black, and a wide smile stretched across her face. "Clarence? Is that _you_ in there?"

She laughed, long and loud, as Cas started to growl, a low rumble in his chest. Meg paid no mind, shifting back to Dean as she pulled a phone out of her pocket. "It _is_ Clarence. Which means you can only be Deano," she concluded, dialing a number and holding up the phone. There was a pause, and then she said, "It's me. You're not going to believe this…"

* * *

When Sam and Zorro finally passed the sign welcoming them back to Eureka, the hunter was nearly ready to pass out with relief. He was grateful to Zorro, of course, but the little dog's jabbering was starting to make Sam's teeth rattle. Besides, he was getting a worse and worse feeling about Dean and Cas; the sooner he found them, the happier he'd be.

 _"_ _Okay, here we are, man,"_ Zorro yipped as he scampered along. _"Eureka. Told you I'd get you here, no?"_

 _"_ _Yeah,"_ Sam replied, distracted by a squirrel chittering on the opposite street corner. He cocked his head, staring at the infuriating creature and calculating whether or not he could catch the thing before it bolted. Besides, he thought he could smell a rabbit in that direction, which was highly tempting, and he hadn't eaten all day…

The hunter gave himself a shake, frowning as he forced his gaze away, turning his back on the rodent. _"Right,"_ he said. _"So… where is Dean?"_

_"_ _You don't know?"_

Sam's frown deepened. He sat down, reaching a back leg up to scratch at his ear while he thought, considering the various options. He wished he knew why he'd ended up two towns over, alone. That would be a big clue as to what had happened to Cas, and where he was now, and Dean was most likely with him. At least, Sam hoped.

 _"_ _Either Circe caught them when Cas tried to fly away,"_ Sam said, thinking out loud, _"Or they escaped and they're looking for me right now."_

Zorro sniffed a nearby fire hydrant, then raised his leg to it. The hunter tried to ignore him, looking back to the squirrel and wondering again how hard it would be to catch. Giving it a try sounded like fun, and that worried him. The Chihuahua noticed none of this, simply flopped down onto the ground once he was done marking his new territory, waiting for Sam to make a decision.

 _"_ _The motel,"_ Sam finally said. _"He'd expect me to go there. If Circe doesn't have them, they'd head to the motel first."_

 _"_ _Your call, man,"_ Zorro agreed, hopping back up again in a flurry. _"Then what?"_

 _"_ _We'll figure it out."_ Which meant basically that there was no plan whatsoever, but they'd gotten out of worse messes than this without any actual planning. At least the motel was close to the outskirts, not far of a walk from there at all. Sam led the way, hope building with every step, right up until the parking lot behind the motel came into view.

No Impala.

Breaking into a run, Sam raced for the door of their room, heart thudding with disappointment. There was no way Dean would have left the Impala at Circe's place but… but there was always a chance that he and Cas had split up to look for him, and maybe the angel had stayed at the motel. Sam stopped when he reached the room, scratching on the door and whining.

_"_ _Dean! Cas? Anyone? Guys, are you here?"_

There was no answer, just the _click-click-clicking_ of Zorro's nails on the pavement as he scurried over to join Sam. The hunter sat back on his haunches with a huff. He'd been so focused on just getting back to town, but hadn't given much thought to the next step. Now that he was here, how was he supposed to find his brother and best friend?

A breeze drifted by, just enough to ruffle the dog's long fur, but Sam tensed up and cocked his head. That smell… it was Dean. The hunter had no idea how he would even know that, had no idea how he could identify his brother, but he knew without the slightest doubt that the older Winchester had been there. In fact, it smelled like he'd-

 _"_ _Oh, GROSS!"_ Sam yelped, jumping backwards from the door and staring at it in bewilderment. _"Why the HELL would he-"_

 _"_ _Hey, man, did your brother mark this door?"_ Zorro interrupted, looking even more puzzled than Sam felt.

_"_ _Yeah! That's just-"_

_"_ _I thought your hermano was human."_

Sam paused, eyeing the Chihuahua, who was sniffing at the door. _"My brother IS human."_ Cocking his head, he added, _"Why?"_

Zorro looked up at Sam, tail wagging high in the air as he replied, _"This isn't human, muchacho. It's weird, sorta like you… it's not dog, but… it is. You feel me?"_

The hunter gaped at the smaller dog, eyes narrowing. _"Circe changed him into a dog, too?"_ That would explain everything. Cas wouldn't have been able to hold on to him if the goddess had transformed him, and Dean certainly wouldn't have "marked" anything if he was still his human self. And if his brother had definitely been here—and this smelled pretty damn fresh—then Circe didn't have them at least, because Sam and Zorro had seen her in the last town, going the other way.

Which still left the question of where Dean and Cas _were_ , if no longer here at the motel.

 _"_ _Something else, too,"_ Zorro added, tiny forehead wrinkled. _"Something even more loco. Man, this one doesn't smell human at ALL, but… but not really dog, but… this doesn't make sense."_

 _"_ _That must be Cas,"_ Sam decided. _"He's an angel, so if Circe-"_

 _"_ _An ANGEL?!"_ Zorro barked, eyes lighting up like Christmas morning. He ran in a circle, tail wagging so hard that Sam was amazed he didn't knock himself over. _"An angel! You holding out on me, eh? A real angel? Oh man, I gotta see 'im! We're gonna find an angel?"_

The hunter blinked, watching the unexpected show of abundant enthusiasm. _"Uh… yeah."_

 _"_ _Oh boy! Oh boy, that's just…"_ Zorro broke into a long string of Spanish, too rapid for Sam to follow with only one year of the language under his belt. The Chihuahua ran in a few more circles, quivered for a moment, and then promptly peed on the motel wall in uncontrollable excitement.

 _"_ _Um…"_ Sam cleared his throat and looked away, not sure if this was more amusing or awkward. _"Just one thing… they're not here, so I don't know-"_

 _"_ _Oh man, you still don't get this whole dog thing,"_ Zorro laughed in high spirits, kicking some dust over the spot he'd just marked and then sniffing at the door frame. _"Your brother, he left you everything you need to find him."_

Sam's ears shifted up, hope rising in his chest. _"You mean- of course!"_ The hunter inhaled deeply, but could only smell Dean right there on the door. There were too many other odors and aromas tangling together, and Sam didn't have the experience to separate them all out. Turning back to the Chihuahua, he asked, _"Zorro, do you think you can track his scent?"_

The little dog gave him a toothy grin as he puffed his chest out with pride. _"You forget who you're talking to? I'm Zorro el Poderoso, and I'm a mighty hunter. I'll find your brother and the angel, just follow me."_


	8. Chapter 8

Things were looking worse for them with every passing moment. Castiel glowered at Meg, who was clearly enjoying the angel's predicament. This was the second time she'd stood outside of his prison, though at least this one was made merely of metal, and not a ring of burning holy oil.

Of course, he _had_ tried to smite her, and then used her body as a bridge over the flames—burning her horribly in the process—so perhaps it was only natural that she would gloat over his capture. Again.

 _"_ _When I get free of this,"_ he snarled at her, stepping right up to the cage door, _"I will kill you."_

"I'm sure whatever you're saying isn't very nice," Meg replied, cool and soft voice slithering through the metal fence. "So, screw you, angel. Just sit tight. My boss wants a word."

 _"_ _Wait, her 'boss'?"_ Dean demanded from the next pen, stiffening. _"Cas, she doesn't mean…?"_

Castiel felt all his fur go on end as the new presence seeped through the building like poisoned fumes. There was a collective whimper from the other dogs, and in the following silence, only the softest of echoes could be heard of the slow footsteps creeping down the aisle.

 _"_ _Yes,"_ the angel whispered, taking a step back in spite of himself. He gulped, tail pressing down. _"Yes, Dean, that's who she means."_

"Well, well, well…"

Lucifer's voice was barely over a whisper, yet Castiel found himself lowering slightly to the floor under the weight of so much evil laden in its sibilant sound. His heart was pounding; the angel had been Lucifer's prisoner once before, and had hoped he would never have to repeat that horrible experience. As the Devil drew even with him, looking down into the pen, Castiel glared up at his brother.

"Castiel," Lucifer greeted him, mouth quirking up in a half smile. Of course he would recognize the angel instantly. "You're looking… well, I can't really say 'good'." He regarded the lesser angel for a moment without another word, before twisting his head to examine a still growling Dean. "And Dean Winchester… Michael's prided vessel… I have to say, when I stationed my demons here, I was only expecting to find Sam, not you two. This is a nice surprise."

One of Lucifer's hands rose in Dean's direction. Castiel lunged at the door in desperation, colliding with it in a jangle of cold metal.

 _"_ _Don't!"_ he shouted, but the Devil had already snapped his fingers. There was a bright flash, while Castiel rushed to the fence walling him away from Dean, pressing against it and straining to see. When the light faded, the angel slumped, breathing easier to see that his brother hadn't killed Dean. Instead, a very alive, very _human_ hunter was sprawled on his stomach inside the dog pen, clothes dusty and mussed.

"What the-" Dean gasped, lifting a hand to his face to look at it. Castiel could see the flicker of relief as the older Winchester registered his usual body. Dean scrambled to his feet, spreading both arms out as much as he could. The size of the cage limited his movements, just barely tall enough to stand in, and too narrow to be considered comfortable.

 _"_ _Lucifer…"_ Castiel said, stepping back to the cage door and raising his muzzle boldly. _"Let him out."_

"Mmm, can't do that," Lucifer replied with the same half-smile that negated the apologetic tone.

"Can't do what? What did he say? Cas, what did you say?" Dean looked between the two, no longer able to understand the barking and growling of the dogs' language.

 _"_ _Then kill us and be done with it,"_ the angel snapped. His muzzle lifted even higher, proud and fierce. He was terrified, of course, but he knew Lucifer's penchant for playing games, a cat toying with his captive mice, and the angel would rather just get this over with.

Lucifer, however, spread his hands with feigned innocence. "Why would I do that?" he asked. "You're underestimating your use to me, brother." Reaching up, the Devil merely brushed a fingertip delicately against the padlock keeping the pen closed and it fell to the floor, burning white hot with a soft sizzle. The door to Castiel's cage swung open, but the Husky took a step back instead of trying to run for freedom.

"Hey!" Dean shouted, pressing against the chain-link wall, though his hands were too large to slip through; the best he could do was clutch the fence, watching as Lucifer reached in and pressed a heavy hand on Castiel's head.

The angel felt his brother's power, holding him at bay, preventing him from voluntary movement. He growled as Lucifer coaxed him forward, out of the kennel. Castiel could see Meg grinning, which didn't make him feel any better. From behind him, he heard Dean slam into the fence in anger, yelling again,

"Hey! What are you doing? I swear, Lucifer, if you hurt him-"

"Why would I hurt him?" the archangel interrupted, voice silky and smooth and full of subtle venom. "I need Castiel."

 _"_ _I told you,"_ the angel snarled, trying to shake loose but finding himself paralyzed by his brother's hand. _"I will not join your fight. You might as well kill me now."_

"That would just be wasteful," Lucifer replied with a shrug. A gentle hand started rubbing slow circles around Castiel's ears, making the angel shudder and strain to pull away, but Lucifer refused to let go. "Look, guys, I'm not really so bad."

"Bite me," Dean snapped. A demon kicked the fence to the pen that the hunter was trapped in, making him jump.

"When will you two learn to trust me? I won't hurt either of you. Sam likes you. If I _killed_ you, you think he'd ever say yes?"

At the mention of Sam, Castiel tensed slightly, eyes darting to examine Lucifer's face more closely. Did the archangel already have the younger Winchester, then? Were they to be tortured as a means of making the hunter accept Lucifer?

"No," the Devil went on, as casual as could be, scratching the top of Castiel's head in a show of what the angel doubted was affection. "But having said that, wherever you find one Winchester, you find the other, so I'm sure we'll be seeing Sam shortly."

 _"_ _So we're nothing but bait,"_ Castiel growled, though a bit of tension released from his shoulders—Sam was still free, at least for the moment.

"Of course not. You're my brother." Lucifer was still smiling, now rubbing under Castiel's chin though he fought to pull away. "And the offer still stands, of course. I could use a good angel like you, Castiel."

The warrior angel narrowed his eyes, managing to wrench his face away, though he still couldn't move far with Lucifer's power keeping him stationary. None of the other dogs in the pound had so much as twitched, though Castiel was certain this was fear, and not his brother's influence. Looking over at Dean, trapped inside the padlocked kennel, the angel demanded,

_"_ _So you let me live if I agree to fight for you, is that it? And what about Dean?"_

Lucifer's eyes flicked that direction as well, smiling slightly. "What about him?"

"What about me, _what_?" Dean asked with a suspicious glare. "Look, I think we're all being a little rash. Why don't you just let us go, and-"

"You're stalling, Dean," Lucifer suddenly said, keeping one hand on Castiel's head and reaching the other out, palm up. Instantly, a cell phone appeared in his outstretched hand, and the hunter's expression turned guilty and nervous. The Devil only smiled, then snorted in amusement as he examined the thing. "And just who was this message for help supposed to go to?" he asked. "Your friend, Bobby Singer, perhaps?"

"What? No?"

Castiel winced; he'd forgotten that Dean had a phone in his pocket, reappearing when the hunter had been turned back into a human. Even if he'd succeeded, though, what would Bobby have been able to do to help them, several states away and without any means to fight the Devil? Fortunately, Lucifer seemed more amused than angry at the attempt, as he chuckled.

"Dean, where would the fun be in that? You think an old cripple would be any match for me or my demons? I'm saving his life by keeping him out of this. You should thank me. I don't think you'll be needing this… or any of those blades, or the gun, for that matter."

Letting go of Castiel for a moment, Lucifer snapped his fingers again. The phone in his hand disappeared; from the way Dean jolted and started patting at his pockets frantically, so had all of his weapons. Castiel winced again. Could this position get any worse?

Right on cue—and really, the angel should have known better than to even think such a question—there was a fierce sound of barking from outside, the thud of heavy paws racing towards them. For a second, Castiel wondered with dismay if that was Sam abandoning all sense and racing in to the rescue.

Instead, he was met with the sight of two massive Dobermans, too large to have passed for natural even if he hadn't been able to see the hideous, mutilated faces that the pair were sporting. Castiel gaped, at a loss. The demons were possessing dogs? Had they thought it would make Sam easier to find?

"Are you kidding-" Lucifer burst out, cutting off and looking upwards with an impatient sigh. Clearly this had _not_ been done intentionally. Castiel glanced over at Dean, who met his gaze with a baffled shrug. The archangel got to his feet, crossing his arms as he eyed the panting dogs. "Had ourselves an accident, did we?"

 _"_ _Master,"_ one of the demon-dogs whined, slinking down low to the ground. _"It was some crazy lady. She was looking for Sam Winchester, too."_

 _"_ _We were following her,"_ the other took up, pointed ears alert. _"She knew he was a dog. I don't know how-"_

"That will do," Lucifer cut in, rolling his eyes. "I know exactly who's been interfering with my vessel." The archangel turned back around, glaring down at Castiel, who took another step back. His older brother was looking decidedly less amused now, and that was never good. "Last chance, Castiel. You're sure you won't reconsider?"

Castiel looked from one demon to the other, all five of which were converging on him now. A whine was building up in his chest, but he pushed it back down, refusing to show fear. With Dean still stuck in his cage, with even _less_ means of defending himself, the angel didn't dare make a break for it, lest they punish the human for it.

Turning back to the Devil, Castiel pulled his muzzle into a snarl, showing his teeth. _"No."_

With another sigh, Lucifer shrugged and turned away. "Your call," he tossed over his shoulder. "If you'll excuse me, I have a vessel to find."

"Hey, wait!" Dean shouted from the kennel, fingers still wrapped in the fence. "Aren't you going to change him back?"

Lucifer half turned his direction, smirking. "Why? If he could fly properly like this, he would have done it by now. Besides… can't have you two plotting, now can I? This saves me so much trouble. I'll have to thank the pagan whore for that."

 _"_ _What- what about us?"_ one of the Doberman demons asked, but Lucifer's smirk fell away.

"You were in a human body when you let Sam escape, so maybe you'll be more useful like this. Guard these two. Oh and by the way," he added, rubbing his hand with a frown, "you might want to muzzle him. They bite."

And then he was gone, leaving Castiel to back into the wall as the demons surged in. The angel could hear Dean yelling in the background, but his sole attention was placed on fighting off the mass of bodies covering him, holding him down. If he'd only been in his usual vessel, with angel blade in hand, he wouldn't have needed his full grace to eliminate these demons. As it was, Castiel found himself tackled to the ground and held there despite his squirming. There were three demons on top of him, keeping his limbs pinned, while another was securing a collar around his neck.

Meg, meanwhile, had found a muzzle that the human workers must have kept on hand in case of emergencies. She knelt over Castiel, shoving the leather contraption over his snout. The angel felt it holding his jaws shut, so unforgiving that he couldn't open his mouth even a little. It muffled both his furious snarls and his pained yelp as she jerked the buckles in place and fastened them much tighter than it needed to be, so that the straps dug into Castiel's face.

"That's for burning me," she hissed in his ear, giving the dog a shake. He wanted to growl out a retort, but had to settle for an enraged glare instead. Between the muzzle and the collar cutting into his throat, it was getting difficult to breathe properly.

By now, one of the demons had attached a leash to the collar and threaded it through the chain link fence, pulling it taut to keep Castiel trapped where he was. There wasn't enough slack for him to sit upright, though he tugged fiercely in an attempt to get up anyway, once the demons had moved off of him. Finding it useless, Castiel grumbled in the back of his throat and fixed a steely glare on Meg again.

"What?" she asked, eyes narrowed. "I'm letting you off easy, Clarence… just because you're kind of cute like this."

"You're a friggin' _coward_ , you know that?" Dean spat at her from his cage, slamming a palm against the fence hard. "You wouldn't be so tough if he was free!"

Castiel had to twist his head uncomfortably far in order to see his friend; when he tried to maneuver himself around so that he could at least keep an eye on Dean, though, one of the Dobermans leaped forward to stand threateningly over him.

 _"_ _Stay down, angel,"_ he warned with a snarl. Castiel shifted his glare up to this demon, responding with a muffled growl.

Meg ignored all of this, turning to Dean instead. She frowned, then raised a hand to throw him back, slamming the human into the rear of the fenced-in pen. Dean hit with a grunt then fell to the floor, eliciting another muted sound of anger from the angel.

"No one asked you," she said, cool as ever, as she moved in to squat in front of the hunter's cage. "And when Lucifer gets back here in his new, sweet ride, he won't need you anymore. I hope I get to kill you myself." The demon smiled, then stood back up. Castiel watched as she turned to the possessed pound worker. "I'm going to scout the perimeter," she told him. "Watch them until I get back."

The demon nodded, his smug grin already turned in Castiel and Dean's direction. The angel's mind raced; their options were getting thin. There was nothing holding him but the physical restraints; they hadn't bound his grace with sigils, so he _could_ fly himself out of there, maybe even escape. But that was out of the question. They would take it out on Dean, and what would Castiel do after escaping anyway?

They could bide their time and hope that Sam managed to continue to evade Lucifer, but realistically, the younger hunter _would_ find his way to his captured brother. Sam would walk right into this trap, if he knew Dean was in danger. They couldn't sit back and wait to be rescued.

They could try to fight their way free, but Lucifer had not only taken Dean's weapons, he'd taken their sole means of communicating, as well. Castiel couldn't talk with the muzzle on, and Dean couldn't understand him anyway now that he was human again.

Of course, trying to think of an escape plan was difficult with the distraction of the two hideously mutated demon Dobermans pacing back and forth in front of him, staring like they were only barely restraining themselves from attacking. Castiel watched them, noting their ill-concealed hatred.

"Hey," one of the demons blurted out, both Castiel and Dean jumping slightly at the sudden break in the thick silence. "Any of you guys ever seen a dog fight?"

Castiel stared at the demon speaking, not understanding. He heard a rustle from Dean, though, as the hunter pulled himself back to the front of the pen.

"You son of a bitch," Dean seethed; Castiel smelled fear. "You even _think_ about it-"

"There's an idea," one of the others interrupted with obvious delight. She knelt down between the two Dobermans, looking from one to the other with a huge grin. "What do you think? A little entertainment to pass the time?"

 _"_ _Oh, just let me at him!"_ one of the demon dogs barked with great enthusiasm, turning wild eyes to Castiel, who grumbled wordlessly again. Great. And he couldn't move. This was going to be a very one-sided fight.

The others couldn't understand the demon as a dog, but the shift in the Doberman's positions was all the answer they needed. Both crouched low, circling around Castiel as the angel scrambled to get as high on his feet as the leash would allow—basically still lying on the ground. There was a bang from Dean's cage, as the hunter yelled,

"You even try it, and I swear I'll-"

"Yeah? You'll what?" one of the demons asked with a snicker.

"No, leave him alone!" Another bang on the fence, and now Dean's distress was all too evident. "Cas… Cas, just fly! Go!"

"Yeah, 'Cas'," the female demon mocked. "Fly away. Save yourself. I'm sure Dean would put up a good fight in your place. Well… before he gets turned into puppy chow, I mean."

"Cas, _go_! Please, just run for it!"

But he couldn't just leave, and surely Dean knew that. Castiel's eyes locked on the looming Dobermans, both of whom were larger and had free range of motion _and_ the use of their teeth.

This was going to hurt.

"Sic 'im, boys," the first demon ordered with a smile.

The Dobermans needed no further invitation. In perfectly synchronized movements, both of them leaped at the downed angel with teeth bared.


	9. Chapter 9

Dean slammed his shoulder against the door of the pen as hard as he could, over and over, shouting the entire time. It did no good; the padlock refused to give, and the chain links wouldn't yield. He could only watch, fury and fear flooding his heart, as the demonic Dobermans attacked his best friend with a vengeance.

"Cas! Get off him, you sons of bitches!"

The other demons were laughing, raucous and giddy with mad delight, as the Dobermans tore into Cas. The angel couldn't even get his feet under him, couldn't lift his head more than a foot off the ground, with how low they had secured the leash on the wall. His awkward attempts to bat the dogs aside didn't even slow them down. The two easily knocked him off his paws, double-teaming the fallen angel.

With the muzzle preventing Cas from biting or even barking, the only sound Dean could hear from his friend was a muffled, high-pitched cry of pain. The agonized yelps ripped into the hunter; there was no worse torture than watching this, unable to help.

"Cas!" he shouted again, banging against the cage once more. His eyes darted all around his pen, looking for something, _anything,_ that might help him escape and run to the angel's aid. There was nothing. Across the aisle, even Captain was on his feet, an angry string of barking tearing from his throat.

Sinking down to his knees and clutching the kennel wire, Dean watched the scene with eyes burning, his vision blurring slightly but not enough to block out the horrific sight.

"Get him!" one of the demons cheered, all of them crowding around as the Dobermans pressed their advantage. Cas was on the ground, legs scrambling to roll over onto his side, but they weren't even giving him the chance to get off his back. One of the dogs slashed out with wicked claws, catching Cas's unprotected underbelly and scoring a deep gouge that left blood welling up to stain the white fur.

Again, the angel's yelp couldn't quite make it through the muzzle holding his mouth closed, but it was enough for Dean to feel like he himself was being ripped apart. The other Doberman had leaped in as well, obscuring the hunter's line of sight; everything was a flurry of fur and blood, with the sound of Cas's muffled cries blending into the laughter of the spectators.

"You _cowards_ ," Dean seethed, turning his head from the gruesome display of cruelty.

There was another yelp, but this time it had come from one of the demon dogs. Dean's head shot up. Even pinned down and outnumbered, bleeding from a half dozen places, the angel was still a fighter. Dean watched as Cas lunged as far forward as he could, the blunt end of the muzzle striking one of the Dobermans full in the face. It was enough to knock the dog backwards, whimpering.

"Yeah!" Dean shouted, pulling himself up slightly on the fence, hope rising. "Go, Cas! Fight 'em!"

He had no idea what the demon-dogs were saying to each other, the snarls and growls meaningless, but Dean could tell that they were pissed. The pair had backed off, giving Cas a moment to find his footing again; they were squared off now, all three low to the ground with ears fully down and back, hackles on full rise. There was a cold spark in Cas's brilliant blue eyes, promising that he wasn't going to let this be an easy fight.

Realistically, though, he was still at a major disadvantage. One of the Dobermans sprang in, distracting the angel, who tried to swipe at him. The second demon slid in the other side with jaws open wide, sinking his teeth into the back of Cas's neck.

This time, the yowl of pain was even louder than before, high and agonized behind the muzzle. Dean felt his heart stop, silently mouthing pleas for his friend to fight loose. The Doberman was unshakeable, though, snarling with vicious intent. He wrenched Cas back down to the floor by the scruff, leaving the other free to attack the angel's belly and flanks once again, teeth and claws slicing mercilessly into the angel.

Blood was starting to pool now, and Dean could see the thick, red stuff on the Dobermans' jaws and feet. His pulse quickened in fear for Cas; why weren't the wounds healing themselves? If the angel couldn't fly properly, did that mean… did that mean he couldn't heal himself, either?

"Stop!" Dean cried out, trying to reach fingers through the space in the chain links. "Stop, you're killing him!"

His shouts went unheeded. Trapped on his back, Cas couldn't do much to fight back, couldn't defend himself against the savage attack. Scores of jagged gashes covered his body, teeth marks dotting his fur as Cas whined repeatedly, so full of pain that Dean ached from the very sound.

Then, one paw lashed out—only one. Even in the dog's form, there had never been any who could match Cas's speed. The angel caught the Doberman mid-lunge, the beast's neck stretching towards him with the intent of sinking his teeth into the Husky, but the strike never landed home. Instead, with a horrific sound of tearing flesh and the gurgle of frothy blood, the Doberman fell to the floor.

Dean, along with the entire host of demons, froze and stared wide-eyed as the wounded dog thrashed and writhed on the ground, blood gushing from his gouged out throat. No one had expected that, and for good reason; demons weren't supposed to be that easy to kill. But it seemed that the demon was as vulnerable in this form as Cas was, because after a moment, the silent spasms turned into death throes, and the demon never got back up.

No one moved. Dean wanted to cheer, but even without a dog's senses, he could feel the fury sizzling in the air from the rest of the demons. He hoped Cas wasn't about to pay too dearly for that.

"What are you doing?" an irate voice demanded from the front of the room.

The crowd of demons jumped, and Dean's face darkened into a glare again as Meg stormed forwards. He had just opened his mouth to warn her in no uncertain terms to stay the _hell_ away from Cas, when she snapped, "Quit screwing around and leave him alone, unless you're _all_ hoping to die. He's still an angel, you morons. We're supposed to be watching for Sam! Now get that carcass out of here and get back to work!"

The four demons who had been watching scrambled to obey, two of them grabbing the dead Doberman by its limbs and hauling it towards the back. A bright red blood trail followed them, but at least it wasn't angel blood. The other demon-dog hadn't let go of Cas's neck yet, giving the angel a warning shake and a growl as Meg approached and knelt in front of them.

"What are you doing?" Dean demanded, straining to see around the demon. Her only response was a cool glower over her shoulder, but he could see that she was holding another leash in her hands.

"So you don't try using those super special claws to scratch your way out," she said to the angel, swiftly wrapping the leash around his forelimbs to lash them together. "We wouldn't want you running off, would we?"

Dean saw Cas try to twist away as Meg rubbed his furry head, a muffled protest barely audible through the muzzle. She only snickered, getting to her feet and turning back towards the front. The other Doberman finally let go, teeth stained red with Cas's blood. Dean winced at the myriad of wounds covering the angel's body, and the way he could only lay on the ground, sides heaving with the effort of his labored breaths.

For a second, Dean thought the demon dog would stay and attack again, now that Cas was even more tightly restrained. From the way it prowled around him, a low, continuous rumble in his throat, he was certainly considering it. Meg turned back towards him, frowning.

"You had your shot, tough guy," she snapped. "Get up here, I need your nose to help find the other Winchester."

The Doberman stood over Cas, growling something that Dean couldn't understand, then finally turned to trot back towards the front. He and Meg disappeared out the door, which swung closed with a heavy thud to leave the two captives with a brief reprieve.

For a second, the only sound in the room was the soft whimpering of frightened dogs all along both aisles, and Cas's tight, heavy breaths. Dean pushed himself into the corner of his cage, trying to see the front door. He didn't have a good view from this vantage, but after a quiet minute in which the demons didn't come bursting back, the hunter whirled to turn his attention to the angel.

"Cas!" he called out, praying to keep hearing those belabored gasps for air. As long as Cas kept breathing, he was still alive. "Cas, you with me, buddy?"

Of course the angel couldn't actually answer, but he heard Cas rustle slightly in reply, a soft whine from deep in his throat. Damn this cage! Dean hit the wire fence again in frustration, desperate to hurry to Cas's side. He needed to see the damage for himself, needed to start cleaning those wounds, needed to do _something_.

"I can't reach you," he growled. "How- how bad is it?"

The angel whined softly again. Dean winced, biting back a ferocious string of curses as Cas shuffled around inch by inch so he could see the hunter. With his front paws bound together, and the leash confining his head to a relatively small area of movement, and the wounds still oozing blood, it was obviously a painful challenge.

"Shit, Cas, don't try to move," Dean warned. The hunter's voice broke slightly, but for once he didn't even care about acting tough. "Just… take it easy, okay?"

Stubborn as ever, the warrior angel only huffed a bit, continuing to maneuver around so that his head was pointed in Dean's direction, then he collapsed down onto the dusty floor into a sticky pile of blood. The Husky's head lolled to the side, blue eyes falling closed. It had taken a toll just to move that far, Dean could see. His friend was breathing even harder now. On every few exhales, he shuddered, and the hunter prayed that nothing was broken.

Dean rubbed his face with one hand, watching Cas with a sick pit in his gut at what he'd just witnessed. "I'm gonna get you out of here, buddy," he murmured. "Are you… are you healing at _all_?"

The angel's eyes fluttered open and he met Dean's gaze. For a moment, he didn't move, but then his head bobbed up and down in an almost imperceptible nod. The hunter sat back on the ground of his cage, releasing a long breath of relief. Okay. That was something.

"Can you fly?" he asked. "Just enough to get out of that?"

This time, Cas sat up slightly—or struggled to, though with his paws tied together, the best he could do was lift his head off the ground. He was shaking his head, though, looking from the bloody gashes on his underbelly to Dean.

The hunter nodded understanding; Cas couldn't fly while using all his power to put himself back together.

"Okay…" he murmured, clearing his throat to get rid of the froggy sound betraying his distress. "Okay. Just heal. You were awesome, Cas, you really were. I'm gonna get us both out of here and then we're going to find Sam. We'll be alright."

If only Lucifer hadn't taken his phone away, damn it! Even though Dean knew his pockets would be empty, he couldn't help patting himself down just in case. The damn archangel had even gotten his pocketknife, though. So much for picking the lock.

"Wait!" Dean exclaimed, sticking his foot out in front of him. "I forgot! Please be there, please be there- _yes_!"

With a flourish and a grin, the hunter pulled his spare lockpick from his boot, kept for just such an occasion. Lucifer hadn't thought of _everything_! Cas picked his head up again, watching with interest, as Dean jumped to his feet and pushed the pick into the padlock of his kennel.

"Come on…" he grumbled under his breath, face tightening into intense concentration as he jimmied with the lock. "Come on, baby!" Dean stuck his tongue between his teeth, looking upwards and using only his sense of touch and years of practice at this. It took a few seconds, but before long there was a satisfying click, the padlock opening at last.

Grinning broadly, but biting back any exclamations of excitement, Dean pushed the fence door open, savoring the feel of freedom as he hurried out of his cage. There was a collective scrabbling from all the other pens as the dogs pressed closer to their own doors, though fortunately they still seemed to be too frightened to bark.

Dean's only thoughts were for Cas. He rushed to the angel's side, dropping down to his knees and reaching shaky hands out to hover over his friend, afraid to touch him lest he hurt the wounded warrior.

"Damn it," he whispered, seeing the horrible slashes—the flow of blood seemed to be slowing, at least. "Hang in there, buddy. Let me get you loose."

Cas whined, a soft, miserable sound, as he strained to push his head closer to Dean. The collar around his neck pulled tighter at the movement, but the angel just tilted his face up, eyes pleading for the hunter to get rid of the hated muzzle first. Dean nodded, fumbling to undo the straps that dug into Cas's face. The contraption fit like a sleeve over his snout, binding his mouth closed, so Dean had to tug a bit to get the damn thing off.

The angel didn't make a sound, but as soon as he was released from the muzzle, he opened and closed his mouth several times in evident relief to be free, tongue licking his snout. The leather had left his fur matted down where it had been cinched so tightly, and Dean had to wince in sympathy.

"There you go," he murmured, keeping his voice as low as possible so as not to draw attention from any demons that might have been lurking in the front room. "I've got you, buddy. Hold still… god, Cas, that was seriously badass, you know that, right?"

Cas let out a soft woof that Dean couldn't decipher, but he looked like he was smiling a bit. At least, as much as a dog could. He held still as Dean quickly unwound the leash from the angel's paws and threw it aside with an angry glare.

"Almost there." Again, the hunter grimaced as he unbuckled the collar they'd put him in, pulling it free and leaving it to dangle from the fence, still attached to the leash. He jumped up, glancing over his shoulder to make sure none of the demons were on their way to check on their prisoners. "Can you stand?"

The angel nodded his head, still working his mouth slightly, and pushed himself up onto his paws. He wobbled a bit, releasing a strangled whine that made Dean want to go out there and kill every single one of the bastards who'd done this to Cas. The angel's legs shook, almost giving out, so Dean grabbed him around the middle and held on tight, supporting his friend until Cas found his footing again and could stand on his own.

Looking up at him, Cas woofed in what Dean took to be quiet appreciation. The hunter nodded, but his eyes were busy roving the angel to determine the extent of the damage that had been done.

"Whoa… you look better already," he said, noting that the blood itself was mostly gone, leaving rust colored patches on the angel's furry coat. "We gotta go, Cas. Come on."

Dean hated that his friend couldn't have a bit of a rest, knowing that he'd just gone through a lot, but there just wasn't time. As long as he could walk, they needed to take advantage of that and get out. Cas was a soldier, though; he would understand. The dog nodded again, shaking himself out, but then looked back to where Captain was watching them silently.

Cas growled a bit, then turned his piercing gaze up at Dean. The hunter blinked. "What, Cas?"

Again, the angel looked at Captain, then at the other dogs in the other pens. Dean followed his gaze, then sighed in aggravation. "We don't have _time_ -"

Cas cut him off with another growl. Trotting over to Captain's pen, he pawed at the padlock before turning to Dean expectantly.

Hell, it might give them a distraction, at least. It'd be harder for the demons scouting around outside to find their tracks and scents among all the others. Besides… Dean didn't really like dogs, but leaving this lot here with the demons was just wrong. Grumbling in agreement, the hunter hurried over to the kennel and pulled out his lockpick again. Somewhere down the line, one of the caged dogs yipped excitedly, rattling the fence, echoing through the otherwise silent pound.

"Hey!"

Dean and Cas both whipped around in alarm. The heavy door to the front room fell closed with a bang, the four demons rushing in with eyes full of threat and blackness.

"Shit, run, Cas!" Dean shouted. Maybe they could come back to free the other dogs later, but in the meantime they were outmatched and outnumbered. He and Cas turned, both bolting towards the back where a bright red sign heralded a much needed exit.

"Get back here! Stop him!"

Dean felt the powerful force slam into him from behind. There was no time to react; the hunter could see the wall approaching fast as he flew towards it, but he couldn't catch himself. The hard concrete was unforgiving and solid, and the last thing Dean heard was the meaty smack as he collided with it, before everything went dark.


	10. Chapter 10

Castiel reacted the second he saw Dean go down, bounding forward with a ferocious string of barking. His powerful jaws snapped open and closed, showing massive canines. The demons had tried rushing the fallen hunter, but—once again—Castiel was faster. The angel raced to Dean and then spun, positioning himself between his friend and the attackers.

 _"If you want to live, STAY BACK,"_ he snarled, muzzle pulled back in a vicious display. Even though they couldn't understand his actual words, it was clear that they got the message… the memory of the last demon he'd killed was still as fresh as the blood staining his snout. Now that he wasn't restrained, and Lucifer wasn't there to hold the lesser angel under his control, the four hesitated, eyeing him with prudent wariness.

"He ain't got his wings," the female snapped after a minute, crouching a bit. "Get him!"

The demon to her left grinned and threw a hand up, trying to use his power to fling Castiel out of the way. The angel didn't budge; the smug looks dropped from their faces.

 _"My grace might not be stronger than the goddess anymore,"_ Castiel growled, steely eyes locked onto the demon who'd tried and failed to attack. He took a menacing step forward. _"But I'm still stronger than YOU."_

The other three demons scrambled to move aside, abandoning the one that the angel was prowling towards. This one had already straightened up with wide eyes darting around for an avenue of escape, but there was nowhere to go. Castiel's growls deepened as he stepped forward again.

"Shit!" The demon raised a hand again, concentration warring with fear in his expression. The angel felt a pressure against him, but with one toss of his head, he pushed right through the force with ease. There was no way the demon could have failed to realize that he had just become the first target of the angel's wrath. "Someone grab him!"

The others didn't move to help, though. The demon tripped backwards and Castiel lunged with a roar. He caught the demon's raised arm, shaking him and ripping through flesh and muscle as the monster howled in pain. The demon wasn't as vulnerable as the dog had been, but the angel's teeth were still enough to damage him in a way that ordinary weapons couldn't.

"Get him off!" the demon bleated, sending up a caterwaul that pierced the dogs' ears and set them barking again. "Get… him… off!"

Castiel might have been wounded, might have been exhausted, but he wasn't going to let these demons anywhere close to Dean. If he faltered for even a second, they would gain the upper hand over him; if they rushed him, they could still get him down, and if Castiel got tied up again, it was highly unlikely that there would be a second opportunity to escape. They would see to it that Dean was unable to help him… one way or another.

That wasn't going to happen on Castiel's watch.

The other demons still hadn't worked up the nerve to move in yet, backing up even further as the angel wrenched his enemy down to the ground. The demon yelled again for help that wasn't forthcoming, as Castiel's claws raked down the monster's chest, tearing through its shirt and the first layer of skin. The angel growled around a mouthful of the demon's arm, shaking him hard enough that a bone snapped in his arm like a dried twig.

"To heaven with this!" the demon sobbed, before opening up his mouth and releasing a cloud of black smoke in hasty evacuation, leaving the dead body of its host behind.

"Damn it," the female demon snarled. "If they get away, Lucifer will have _all_ our heads. Come on! We still outnumber him!"

The threat of Lucifer seemed to do the trick. Castiel fought not to show his fatigue as the three remaining demons converged on him, leaping on the angel in a squirming dogpile. Castiel's pulse quickened, knowing that this could well be the end, but he pushed through the dismay. He would fight to his last breath before ever letting them get close to Dean.

Grimly, the angel lashed out with teeth and claws, but they did outnumber him, and he had no weapons. No matter how hard he struggled, Castiel just couldn't extricate himself from their weight. His heart sank as he saw one of them grab the muzzle from the floor. He had lost.

 _"Someone's coming!"_ Captain howled from his cage; Castiel's ears swiveled around, his head lifting warily. Those thundering paws were either the demon dog returning, or…

The door to the front crashed open, nearly cracking from the force with which the newcomer flew through. The Golden Retriever didn't even pause, but galloped towards the demons holding Castiel down. His own muzzle was pulled up in a snarl, baring his teeth.

 _"Sam!"_ Castiel called with relief. He wriggled furiously, forcing the demons to divide their concentration between him and his friend. The hunter collided with the group, bowling them over and freeing the angel from their grasp.

 _"Zorro, get in here!"_ Sam shouted, practically foaming as he fought with the demons. _"Wake Dean up! Whatever it takes! We need his help!"_

He and Castiel ended up side by side, a wall between the demons and the unconscious hunter. To Castiel's surprise, a diminutive Chihuahua came scurrying in, panting hard in obvious effort to have kept up with his short little legs. He slipped right past the demons, making a beeline for Dean, still curled up on the floor.

 _"Sam, are you alright?"_ Castiel quickly asked, even though he knew there wasn't time to trade stories. An enormous weight had been lifted off the angel's shoulders, just to see that he hadn't accidentally sent his friend to somewhere from which he would never make it back.

_"Yeah, great, let's get rid of these guys first, though! Cover me!"_

Not sure what the young hunter intended, Castiel nevertheless nodded and stepped in front of Sam, making himself as large as possible. His muzzle pulled up, showing gleaming canines again and daring the enemy to try getting closer.

"What's going on?" one of the demons demanded as the three regrouped and eyed the newcomer. "Is that… is that Sam Winchester?"

"It must be. Right into our arms," the female replied. She sneered, advancing a step. Castiel snarled at her and slashed his claws against the concrete, throwing up sparks that momentarily stopped her in her tracks. She glared at the angel, but her eyes flicked down to the blood still coating his paw. He'd already gone through two demons; clearly she wasn't eager to be the third.

_"Dean! Hey, hey Dean! Wake up, muchacho, your bro needs you!"_

_"Sam?"_ Castiel called over his shoulder, though it came out like an imposing woof that would hopefully make the demons think twice. They were prowling closer, though. _"Whatever you're planning to do, do it quickly!"_

_"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus…"_

One of the demons gasped, jerking slightly. All three of them traded looks of both horror and confusion. Castiel blinked. Of course… it didn't matter what voice said the exorcism, as long as the Latin was correct. From behind them, he heard the hunter stirring.

"What the hell- hey! Ew, get off!" Dean's voice grumbled, followed by the Chihuahua's excited yip. Castiel absorbed it all, paying attention to everything, but keeping his focus on the task of preventing the demons from rushing in.

 _"Omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii,"_ Sam went on, not stopping to see how his brother was doing. A demon cried out, twitching as the exorcism tried to pull it out of the human body it had stuffed itself into. Its black eyes locked onto the continuously growling Sam, the only one making any sound… the only one who could be saying the exorcism.

"It's him! Stop him!" the demon shouted, pointing at Sam and then flinging his hand to the side. The hunter went crashing into the cages with a yelp.

"Sam!"

It sounded like Dean was scrambling to his feet, but the angel leaped towards the one who'd attacked Sam, preventing him from getting anywhere close to the hunter.

 _"Finish it, Sam!"_ Castiel shouted, baring his teeth and crouching low as the demons pulled back, looking for a way around him.

 _"Omnis legio,"_ Sam went on shakily, " _omnis congregatio et secta diabolica."_

This time, two of the demons dropped down to their knees, clutching at their throats and shouting as they struggled to keep the black smoke inside the human receptacles. There was a yapping from Zorro, words of encouragement, and then a gasp from Dean.

"Attaboy, Sammy! Exorcizamus te-"

Castiel wasn't at all surprised that even without the ability to understand Sam, Dean was still able to pick up on his brother's plan in the blink of an eye. Between the two of them reciting the spell, and Castiel standing between the three and the brothers, the demons couldn't get anywhere close enough to stop them. They writhed in place, trying to fight the exorcism, until finally they could resist no more.

Three black plumes of smoke shot upwards in tandem with three matching howls of fury. The empty bodies slumped down to the ground, and silence reigned in the pound. Castiel breathed heavily, glaring at the three who had tried to harm his friends, before turning his attention back to the Winchesters.

_"Sam… Dean!"_

_"Cas! Oh my god, I'm so glad we found you… Is that BLOOD? You're hurt!"_

"Sam! What the hell is going on? Where have you been? Cas, you alright?"

The angel stepped forward, nodding to Sam but stealing a look at Dean to make sure he wasn't too injured from being thrown into the wall. Aside from a bruise on his forehead and a bit of blood, he seemed to be unharmed.

 _"I'm fine,"_ he assured Sam, which was a significant stretch of the truth. _"Much of the blood isn't mine. We've been looking everywhere for you. Lucifer is searching for you as well."_

_"Yeah, I know. Look, there'll be time to catch up later, but we gotta get out of here. Dean! Dean, thank god! You're… you're human. I'm confused, I thought…"_

"Geez, Sammy," Dean said with a sigh, kneeling down in front of the Retriever. "I was worried sick! You okay?"

Sam barked, dipping his muzzle in a nod, then looking behind Dean. _"Yeah,"_ he said, though conversation was futile at the moment. _"Yeah, Zorro's been a big help."_

Only now did Castiel finally turn his attention back to the Chihuahua who'd run in behind Sam. The little dog was standing stock still, huge eyes directed straight at the angel. Castiel blinked, uncertain as to why exactly the dog named Zorro was staring at him like that. Dean twisted around as well, seeing that they were looking at the Chihuahua, and frowned.

"Were you _licking_ me?" Dean demanded, though the dog ignored him completely.

_"Un ángel…"_

_"Um..."_ Castiel cleared his throat, scratching behind his ear awkwardly. _"Yes."_

_"Un ÁNGEL…"_

"Yeah, I have no idea what any of you are saying," Dean grumbled. "But let's save it, okay? We gotta get out of here before they come back. Cas, you healed enough?"

_"So you WERE injured!"_

_"It's not of import, Sam. We should free the rest of these animals. The enemy will not be kind when they find we've escaped."_

The younger hunter nodded agreement. Castiel wasn't ready to breathe a sigh of relief—not until they were all safely back in hiding while they figured out their next move—but at least they were all together once again. With the addition of Zorro, who was still staring at him with uncomfortable fascination, of course.

Now if they could just kill the goddess and return to their normal forms…

* * *

Gabriel stepped through the doors of the pound, frowning slightly. Death didn't bother him, not anymore, not really. Humans had died here, but hell, he'd killed his share of them, too. What bothered him more was the fact they'd been killed by demons—their stink lingered in the place—which meant those black eyed sons of bitches had gotten the same idea he had. It couldn't be coincidence that they'd been here, at a dog pound, on the same day that Circe had transformed his brother and those two Winchesters.

The question was, had they been more successful in their search than Gabriel had been so far?

Ignoring the dead humans in the front room, the archangel made his way into the back where all the animals should have been. All of the cages were empty. Gabriel wasn't sure what to make of that, though he did hope that the animals at least had been spared. None of this was _their_ fault.

A glistening puddle caught his eye, covering the floor almost three quarters of the way to the back, and Gabriel flew the distance in an instant. His jaw tightened as he knelt down, dipping two fingers into the still sticky mess.

The archangel's face darkened, a herald of wrath and vengeance. The other puddle with the trail towards the back was demon blood, easily recognizable by the darkness it cast, but _this_ …

Gabriel's hand tightened into a fist. _This_ had come from an angel. Gabriel knew, just knew, that it was Castiel's.

"Damn it," Gabriel said, sighing as he closed his eyes. When he opened them again, there was murder written in the golden orbs, a thunderous rage. _Someone_ was going to pay, and those damn Winchesters had better _hope_ that Gabriel found the demon responsible, otherwise it was going to come out of _their_ asses for getting Castiel mixed up in this to begin with. The TV land he'd sent them to was nothing compared to what he'd do when he was _really_ angry.

At least there was more demon blood than there was angel. Gabriel was going to hold on to that fact as hopeful evidence that Castiel had emerged the victor. But to have lost _this_ much... his brother must have been horribly wounded.

There was a banging sound from the back, announcing someone's presence. Gabriel slowly straightened to his feet, fists tightening at his sides; his highly tuned senses registered demon. Perhaps even the one who had so stupidly injured Gabriel's brother. Static started to crackle around the archangel in a frightening mirror of his mood.

The back door into the long room flew open, revealing a demon who clearly wasn't paying close enough attention, to have not noticed the danger he was storming headlong into. It was grumbling under its breath, but stopped with a jolt as it finally seemed to realize that it wasn't alone.

"Hey there," Gabriel greeted him, the mockery of friendliness doing nothing to alleviate the electric charge surrounding him. The demon's eyes widened, and it took a step back.

"Wait," the black eyed monster whispered, a tremor in his voice. "You're… but… but that can't be…"

"So you know what I am," Gabriel said. He was still smiling, but it hid a grim, deadly cool. "How about that."

The demon swallowed, taking another step back as Gabriel advanced. "You feel like… like an..."

"Archangel?" he supplied. Pausing, Gabriel looked down at his hand, still sticky from the blood, then held it up as evidence. "So, uh… any chance you know something about this?"

Rather than answering, the demon opened its mouth wide, in preparation to smoke out, but the archangel wasn't about to give him a chance to escape. He'd flown the remaining distance between them before the demon could blink, a hand covering the monster's mouth to trap it in the vessel.

"Now that's just rude," Gabriel complained. The smirk fell away from his face, and the archangel slammed the demon back against the row of cages, hard enough to make it whimper into his hand. Once again, he held up his palm to show the blood-dipped fingers. "You know what this is?"

Terrified, the demon only shook his head, eyes flicking rapidly between the blood and the archangel. Gabriel leaned in, freeing the monster's mouth as he wrapped an arm around its shoulders instead.

"This," he explained, "is angel blood. Here's the thing… angels aren't supposed to bleed. I know, I know," he added with a jovial air as the demon whimpered again. "We've got an unfair advantage over you demons… we can kill you with a snap of the fingers-" The archangel paused to demonstrate. He didn't put any power into it, but the demon still flinched with a low moan. "-but demons can't hurt us. At least, not you low-level yahoos. So, what I want to know… how did you lot do this… and was it you?"

"No!" the demon cried out, trying and failing to squirm away from Gabriel's unyielding hand. "It wasn't me! Look, I had nothing to do with this!"

"The angel… I'm just gonna guess it was Castiel?"

"I- well, yes. Please… please, it wasn't my fault, he got turned into a dog somehow, and… and it wasn't me!"

Gabriel nodded, grip on the demon tightening even more so that the monster yelped in pain. "Uh huh, so where is he now? What did you do with him?"

"They escaped!" the demon sobbed. "The angel, the Winchesters… they got away, and Lucifer is gonna kill us if we don't find them! Please, you have to believe me, I don't know where they are now! They exorcised us, I only just now got back in a new body and came to check! Okay? I don't know! "

Great. While Gabriel was obviously pleased to hear that his brother at least wasn't still being held captive by the demons—or Lucifer—he was back to square one. Castiel had hidden himself too cleverly, and not even the archangel could track him. Gabriel only hoped that even if his little brother didn't have enough grace left to break Circe's hold, he was still able to heal… _Damn_ , this was so much blood.

"Okay," Gabriel finally said, shoving his hand towards the demon's face again. "I'm gonna ask you one more time… did you do this? Did _you_ hurt Castiel?"

"No! No, please… please believe me, it wasn't me, I _swear_!" The demon was practically bawling now, trembling so hard with very reasonable fear that the cage he stood against was rattling.

"Hmm." Gabriel tilted his head, examining the demon, letting him sweat for a moment. Then, finally, he decided, "I believe you."

For a split second, the demon's fear seemed to ease, its body slumping slightly in Gabriel's grasp. One look at the archangel, though, was all it took to realize that there was no mercy to be found here.

Fortunately, it didn't have long to dwell on its imminent demise. Gabriel's blade was in his hand before the demon even knew what was happening. Fiery orange spurts of light flooded the narrow room as Gabriel plunged his sword deep into the monster's heart, smiting its mangled soul to oblivion. The screams barely echoed for a second, and then it was gone.

The archangel's face furrowed back into an intense frown as he jerked his blade free, pushing the empty husk to the floor without a second look. There was nothing more to see here, nothing to be learned. Time to be moving on.


	11. Chapter 11

Sam was getting hungrier, or the squirrels were calling more attention to themselves. He turned his back on one that was chittering at him from a high vantage point, tucked into one of the truck beds on a stacked pile of cars in the junkyard. It was the safest place they could think of to wait while Dean went and broke the Impala out of the impound lot, but Sam would have felt better if it was the familiar yard at Bobby's house. Even with the cover of the evening twilight, he still felt exposed.

 _"_ _This… is… so… cool!"_ Zorro half barked, half whimpered yet again as he ran a quick circle around Cas. The angel was watching him with an expression of bafflement and discomfort, trying to trade stories with Sam in between the Chihuahua's rapid fire babbling.

 _"_ _-by now, of course, I'm certain that Lucifer has been told of our escape. We can't stay in one place for too long,"_ Cas went on. Sam nodded agreement, as did Zorro.

 _"_ _Lucifer, ah he's bad juju, man… are you gonna fight him? Are you gonna kill him? He's still sorta like your hermano though, no? I've heard his wings look like BATS, those little fuzzy flying rat things, you know? Is it true? Hey, does he-"_

 _"_ _No,"_ Cas replied with a short huff. _"His wings are the most beautiful of all the angels', but brother or not, I won't let him harm this world."_

 _"_ _I can't believe those demons made you fight them,"_ Sam growled, joining Zorro briefly so he could walk around the angel himself once, inspecting his friend for injuries. He'd absorbed the angel's story with alarm and anger, though it had taken quite a bit of prodding to get the whole truth of what the demons had done to him. _"Dean said you were hurt, let me see how bad it is."_

Cas gave him a look, and though the fierce gaze implied exasperation, Sam could detect a whiff of fondness. _"I'm healed now. It took a little longer than it should have, but they weren't able to do any lasting damage."_

 _"_ _Good. We can't lose you, Cas."_

The angel looked away for a moment. _"Unfortunately, I don't seem to be as useful in this form. The sooner we can kill the goddess, the faster I can be helpful again."_

 _"_ _What?"_ Sam stared at his friend in dismay. Was that what Cas thought? _"No… Cas, that's not what I meant. If the demons had killed you… god, Dean and I would be a wreck. It'd be like losing Bobby. Dude, you're FAMILY, we don't care if you're at full power or nearly human."_

Cas paused, eyes coming back to regard the hunter. Even Zorro had fallen quiet, looking back and forth between the two of them with tail wagging at full speed. Sam held the angel's gaze, until finally Cas relented with a soft sigh. _"Oh. Well… I'm, um… still here. I'm just relieved you managed to escape Lucifer yourself."_

Sam gave him a nod, satisfied that he'd made his point, and that whatever wounds the angel had taken at the hands of those cowards were truly healed. Of course, the demons should have realized that taking on an angel—even if they'd tied and muzzled him—could only end badly.

Resisting the urge to chase that damn squirrel, however, was getting more and more difficult, especially when his stomach rumbled. The nattering rodent would at least make a couple of mouthfuls, long enough to get him through until they could kill Circe…

 _"_ _So how many angels are there? Are you the most badass? Cause you seem kinda badass. Can they all turn into dogs or was that an accident? Are you staying on Earth now? I thought angels stayed up in the clouds, or at least that's what the pug across the street told me once, and-"_

Sam had to smile a bit at the restraint Cas was obviously working very hard to maintain in the face of Zorro's continuous chatter. He had to admit it was a relief to hear the familiar rumble of the Impala rolling into the impound lot, though. He'd been putting up with Zorro all day. While the little dog's heart was clearly in the right place, Sam thought he might prefer the Chihuahua in smaller doses.

The Impala crawled around the corner, still hidden by the stacks of cars that created the broad aisles of the junkyard. Dean pulled her to a stop, switching off the engine and getting out.

"Alright, let's do this," the older Winchester growled, walking around to the passenger side and opening the glove box to dig through. "Good thing we keep spare phones charged up. I just hope Bobby has some ideas."

 _"_ _If anyone does, it'll be him,"_ Sam pointed out—an exercise in futility, since Dean had no idea what he was saying.

"But if anyone does," Dean pointed out, flipping open an older phone and hitting some buttons, "it'll be him."

The three dogs gathered around Dean, though Zorro was still bouncing eagerly at Cas's heels. The older hunter eyed them—especially the Chihuahua—with a less than pleased expression, before setting the phone to speaker and kneeling to set it down on the ground where they could all hear.

"It's about time you idjits checked in," Bobby's surly voice spoke out after only two rings. "Where the hell have you been? I thought you'd finished that shifter last night."

"We did," Dean assured him, glancing around at the congregated dogs. "But, uh… well, we've hit a little problem."

"…What kind of problem?"

It was difficult to say if Bobby sounded more suspicious, exasperated, or resigned. Sam would have been amused if this wasn't so serious. He listened as Dean quickly filled Bobby in on their unfortunate run-in with Circe, and their even more terrifying run-in with Lucifer that had ended with Dean at least being turned human again.

"But Sam and Cas are still dogs," the hunter grumbled, as his eyes turned back to his audience. "And… this guy. Sam, this little rat-dog isn't a hunter too, is he?"

 _"_ _RAT dog?!"_ Zorro echoed, before narrowing his eyes and growling, tiny muzzle pulled up over tiny teeth. Dean blinked and stared at him, while Sam tried not to laugh.

 _"_ _Uh… no,"_ he replied, shaking his head for good measure. _"No, he's not. Well, not like a human one turned dog, anyway."_

 _"_ _You'd better believe I'm a mighty hunter! You should show me some respect, human! If you weren't Sam's hermano, I'd show you who you were dealing with! I'm not here for you to like me, it's not like we're actually man's best friend, you know! The only reason we were put here-"_

"Whatever," Dean interrupted with a shrug. "So Sam and Cas need a way back into their normal bodies. I mean, Lucifer can break whatever curse this is, but I don't think asking him nicely for help is a very good idea."

"No shit. Okay, wait a second. I was reading up on the pagan deities not long ago, where did that book go…"

They listened to a sound of rustling and shuffling, as well as quite a bit of cursing and crashing of ancient books being tossed aside. Sam swished his tail impatiently; the movement caught his eye and he shot a paw out, trying to grab the wayward furry appendage. He had to shift in order to do it, though, and the tail moved with him. Sam tried again, growling a bit in annoyance. If he put his paw over it, maybe he could hold the damn thing still long enough to snag it with his mouth... yes! That worked perfectly-

"Sammy, what the hell are you doing?"

With his tail stuffed in his teeth, Sam froze, eyes tilting up to look at an incredulous Dean. _"Um…"_ he muttered, before quickly letting go and giving himself an embarrassed shake. _"Nothing?"_

 _"_ _Hmm,"_ Cas mused, staring at him as well. He cocked his head to the side. _"Dean was also starting to exhibit more and more dog-like qualities. This might not be good."_

"Here we go," Bobby interrupted over the phone once more, before Sam had a chance to ask what Cas meant by that. "Circe. Greek goddess. She's not high on the chain… I'm surprised it worked on Cas at all."

Both Sam and Dean turned to the angel, who looked away and put his head down on his paws with a soft whine. Sam could smell his shame, and even Dean leaned over to rub his head without thinking about it.

"Hey, we don't have time for that," the hunter reminded Cas, though there was understanding in his voice. "You can still kick her ass. Okay? Bobby, does it say how to kill her?"

"Sort of. And it looks like you're the only one who can do it, Dean. I mean, Cas's blade might do the trick. Angels have never interacted with her, at least not when the lore was being written, so there's no way of knowing. But I'm guessing it's not available?"

"Right."

 _"_ _A couple of demons tried to kill her and it didn't work,"_ Sam added helpfully, before remembering that Bobby would only hear barking. He sighed.

"Okay, so why am I the only one who can do it?" Dean asked with a frown. "What, being mauled to death by a dog not good enough?"

"Oh no, it's not that. Circe isn't that powerful, but there's a catch, if you want to kill her… lore says she can _only_ be slain by one of her lovers. That's why she turns them all into animals, 'cause then she can control them, protect herself."

There was a long silence, as Dean opened his mouth several times, before closing his eyes. "Uh huh, and… and so you _naturally_ just figured that- that I'm one of her lovers. You just, what, always assume it's me? _"_

"Pretty much."

"…Thanks a lot, Bobby," Dean snapped. "It was _Sam,_ for the record."

"Oh. Huh. Course, she's a monster, I guess I should have figured. _"_

 _"_ _Hey!"_ Sam protested as his brother's scowl quickly changed to a smirk. So maybe it was fair, but the younger hunter didn't appreciate it being pointed out.

Cas, having ignored the exchange, sat back up and nodded to Sam with grave significance. _"Then you're the only one who can kill her, Sam. We'll have to take her unawares, though, or she'll just order you to stop. It'll be impossible to resist her command."_

Sam nodded, though he huffed in annoyance again over Bobby's remark. He heard his brother asking now if the lore said for sure that they would be changed back once they killed the goddess, but whatever the answer was, Sam tuned it out. He'd found his tail again, darting in with focused intensity, determined to catch the bothersome thing.

It was so cumbersome, having four legs instead of just two. Sam flopped onto his side, head shooting out to try grabbing the fluffy thing in his teeth again. He barely missed, the tail grazing his face so that the Retriever growled and flipped to his other side in one smooth motion, trying to catch it before it disappeared.

Finally, using the same trick of holding the tail down with one paw, Sam was able to clamp his jaws around it once more. Now, though, his back paws were caught up, leading the dog to do an awkward circular shuffle on the ground as he tried to get a better hold of the fluffy tail. Sam growled, vexed. This damn thing…

"SAM!"

There was a loud clapping, the sharp noise startling the Golden Retriever. With a whine, he dropped the tail and looked up to see not only Dean giving him an annoyed look flooded with worry, but a scrutinizing, troubled Cas as well. Sam cleared his throat.

 _"_ _Um… yep, all good. I, uh… I got it."_

 _"_ _Dean called you several times,"_ Cas informed him with a frown. _"Are you feeling… less human than usual?"_

 _"_ _What? No!"_

The angel continued to study him; none of them were paying attention to Zorro, who was apparently trying to copy Sam's antics with far less success and was running in small circles around the junkyard.

From over the phone, they heard Bobby ask, "Let me guess… he's starting to act more like a dog, right?"

"Bobby, tell me this thing ain't permanent!" Dean snapped, as Sam gulped. "She turned him sometime last night, do we have some kinda time limit here?"

There was a pause. Then, a sigh, and not one that was filled with hope. "It don't say how long it'll take, but… yeah, Dean. If they don't get changed back, Sam at least is going to end up completely dog. Don't know about Cas."

"Cas?"

They all turned to the Husky, who leaned back slightly at all the attention. The angel shook his head.

 _"_ _I won't turn into a dog, any more than I would turn human from being in Jimmy Novak's body. My wings aren't compatible with this form, but I'm a being of pure celestial energy. My essence won't change."_

 _"_ _That's SO COOL, ángel!"_ Zorro yipped in unbridled delight.

"I'm guessing he's saying some kind of 'no'," Dean explained to Bobby with a roll of his eyes. "Look, I don't know how long Sammy's got, but we don't have time to come up with anything fancy. If Circe can only be killed by a lover or whatever, then we'll just have to roll with that. Anything else for us, Bobby?"

Sam heard Bobby sigh again. "Afraid not. I'll keep digging, though. And listen… you boys keep me in the loop, you hear, idjit?"

"Yeah, Bobby, thanks."

Dean hung up and ran his hands through his hair, exhaling slowly. Sam could feel his brother's anxiety, could smell his distress. And, while he wasn't exactly keen on the idea of being stuck like this forever… he could also see a potential upside.

 _"…_ _Cas?"_

 _"_ _Yes, Sam?"_

Sam stared at the ground, swishing his fluffy tail in a morose sort of way. _"If for some reason we DON'T kill Circe, and I don't get changed back…"_

 _"_ _We'll kill the goddess, Sam. We'll get you back in your normal form."_

 _"_ _Yeah,"_ Zorro piped up, hurrying forward to sniff at Cas again. _"We've got an ANGEL, amigo!"_

The younger hunter licked his nose. _"But… if we DON'T… I mean, if I became a… a dog, you know? For good. Um… I mean, I couldn't really give consent, right? I'd be useless to Lucifer, no matter what he threatened or tricked me with. I couldn't ever be his vessel?"_

Silently, Cas stared at Sam, head cocked. _"I… am not sure,"_ he admitted. _"I imagine that Lucifer, in the vessel of a dog, would face similar obstacles of weakened power that I have. And it's true that you couldn't properly give consent. But he's powerful, Sam. Very powerful. There's a chance he could still turn you back himself, no matter how far gone your mind was. If so, you'd be even less able to resist him. It's a noble thought, but there's no guarantee it would work."_

 _"_ _But it MIGHT-"_

"Whoa, _whoa_ ," Dean interjected, giving Sam a suspicious glare. "I _know_ that's not you trying to quit on me, Sammy. You're not thinking about giving up, right?"

Sam looked away. _"It's not giving up, it's doing whatever I have to-"_

"Yeah, whatever you're saying, I don't want to hear it," his brother snapped in reply. The older hunter jumped to his feet, moving to the back of the Impala and popping the trunk so that he could pull out a pistol. "We're gonna gank this bitch, and that's all there is to it. We'll take the fight to her, hit her where she lives. Simple as that."

The heavy metal lid slammed back down on the trunk. Dean marched back over to the dogs, glowering down at them with a stubborn set in his jaw that Sam knew meant his brother was going to win this argument, no matter what. Spending his life as a dog didn't sound like a fun option, anyway, and what if Cas never got fixed, either? The younger hunter huffed, but dipped his head in agreement.

"Good," Dean grumbled. He paused, eyes roving over the three dogs before flicking to the Impala. "Damn it, I _just_ washed her, come _on_ …"

 _"_ _No dogs in the car, right, Dean?"_ Sam couldn't help but woof with a canine smirk. Cas looked confused, but Zorro trotted right over, sniffing the wheels.

 _"_ _Car rides are the best! You gonna sit next to me, ángel? This is going to be great, I LOVE car rides!"_

"No. No!" Dean snapped, leaning over to shoo Zorro away. "Sam and Cas can come. That yapper doesn't get anywhere near my baby!"

Zorro growled, baring his little teeth again, while Sam traded an amused look with Cas. The angel didn't seem to have an opinion about it one way or another, but Sam stepped forward to draw even with Zorro.

 _"_ _He's coming, Dean. He saved my life."_

"Aw, come on, Sam! I hate little dogs! They get all hyper and pee on everything, he's _not_ coming in the car!"

 _"_ _We need all the help we can get, Dean,"_ Sam pointed out, stubbornly setting his haunches back down to the ground in what he hoped was an obvious statement that he wasn't going unless Zorro was allowed to come along.

 _"_ _Besides, he wasn't one of Circe's,"_ Cas spoke up, coming to join Sam and dipping his head in agreement—albeit with a bit more reluctance. _"She won't be able to control him."_

The Chihuahua looked up at Cas with an almost tearful expression of delight, yipping a high-pitched squeak of excitement. Dean rolled his eyes, jaw set in obvious irritation, but finally lowered his hand to the handle behind him and jerked the back door open. The shrill, joyous barks intensified as Zorro scurried around in a circle, raced back to the Impala with clacking nails, and spitefully lifted his leg to the back tire before climbing in.

"Oh, come on!" Dean shouted, looking thunderous. "Sam, I'm gonna kick that thing back to Mexico!"

Biting back amusement, the hunter simply jumped up into the back behind Zorro, then wriggled over the bench seat to claim his usual spot riding shotgun. Dean was still cursing in bad temper as Cas also hopped into the Impala. The older hunter slammed the door before sliding in behind the wheel himself, shooting an irate glare at Sam.

"Next time, let's go back to that thing where you don't pick up women in bars, 'kay Sammy?"

Sam barked agreement, then cozied up to the window to enjoy the ride. He heard Dean grumble again, before turning the engine over and heading out of the junkyard, headed to find Circe to end this once and for all.


	12. Chapter 12

"Okay, here goes," Dean said, stopping the car behind an overgrown fence, one street away from Circe's where she hopefully wouldn't see it. Castiel could sense his tension, as well as his control over it. He was impressed, as always; his favorite two humans were always facing down such incredible foes, enemies who should have had them running away in fear, and yet they always managed to surprise him.

Hopefully, this would be another of those cases.

 _"_ _Just in time, I believe,"_ the angel said, though of course the barking would be unintelligible to Dean. He cast a sidelong look at Sam, who was in the passenger side seat with his head out the window, whining with the hope of another car ride. They were starting to lose him.

Following his gaze, Dean frowned and snapped, "Hey! Sammy! Still with me?"

Sam didn't immediately answer, just kept panting and wagging his tail, until the older hunter yelled, "SAM!"

Castiel frowned, relieved when his young friend finally snapped himself out of the trance as some humanity returned. He hoped Sam wasn't still thinking about the plan to block Lucifer's efforts by becoming completely canine. The human would have to actively resist the spell taking over his mind, but he wouldn't struggle as hard if half of him still thought it would be worth it.

"Keep it together," Dean grumbled, echoing the angel's thoughts. The hunter pushed the door open, leaving it for Sam to follow him out, as he moved to open Castiel's door as well. The Husky stepped into the night, shaking out his thick coat, before silently taking in the quiet neighborhood.

 _"_ _Hey, man, nice digs around here!"_ Zorro said with a grin as he hopped out behind the angel and trotted forward a few paces. _"A dog could get used to houses like this!"_

 _"_ _Don't get too used to it, Zorro,"_ Sam suggested. _"We'll have to do this fast."_

"Okay guys, we gotta make this quick," Dean said, squatting down in front of the three dogs with a grim expression. "Everyone remembers the plan?"

 _"_ _I distract la muchacha,"_ Zorro piped up with a few excited yaps. _"She might be a goddess, but she can't tell Zorro el Poderoso what to do!"_

 _"_ _You and I attempt to get close enough to bring her down,"_ Castiel added, lifting his head with a steady gaze. _"You won't be under her command anymore either, now that Lucifer has broken the spell over you. We'll try to cut her throat. It won't kill her, but should be able to stop her from ordering Sam away."_

 _"_ _And then I'll come in for the kill,"_ Sam finished. All three of the dogs looked up at Dean in expectation, but he only stared at them before heaving a sigh.

"Yeah, I hope that was a 'yes'," he muttered to himself, getting back up to his feet. "Just hang in there, you two. Once we gank Circe, you'll be back to normal in no time."

Zorro yipped an affirmative, then started wandering off to sniff at everything around them. Castiel watched Dean head for the trunk where the hunters kept all their weapons; with any luck, this would work as smoothly as the plan sounded like it should, but Castiel was a natural cynic. He doubted very highly that this would be accomplished without any setbacks.

 _"_ _Sam?"_ the angel asked simply, turning to the younger Winchester. Sam let out a soft whine.

 _"_ _I feel it trying to change,"_ he explained. _"My mind, I mean."_

 _"_ _Well… like Dean said… hang in there."_ Castiel shifted then looked away, wishing he had some more comforting words, or at least that he didn't sound as awkward as he felt. Without any other ideas, he turned to look down the road that would take them to the goddess's home. This lull before the fight weighed heavily on the angel, a creature of action. Better to just get it over with, to whatever end.

Fortunately, Dean seemed equally ready to be moving on, from the impatient way he slammed the trunk shut and started striding down the asphalt with quick, almost angry steps. The streetlight glinted off the razor sharp edge of his machete. The three dogs bounded forwards to catch up, Zorro scurrying along behind them with the scent of excitement hanging thickly over him.

None of them said anything as they swiftly made their way to the adjoining road, hurrying towards the cul-de-sac at the end. Castiel kept his senses open, ears twitching for even the slightest hint of Circe's voice, nostrils flaring in the hopes of catching her scent before she was an imminent threat.

It was hard to shelve the heaviness weighing on his heart, but the angel managed to shove his feelings into a box and tuck it away deep inside, with all the other feelings that he'd been told for millennia would only make him a liability. Had he been a proper angel still, his friends would have been out of this mess long before.

This was on him for not being strong enough to protect them… Castiel had to keep his mind in the game, to kill the goddess no matter what so that he could see things set right once more.

Until the _next_ time he let the Winchesters down.

Why did it seem to happen so often? Could it be that the problem wasn't with the monsters they faced, but with him?

Beside him, Sam suddenly whined, twisting as they walked so that his quizzical gaze was zeroed on Castiel. The angel met his eyes, then hung his head. Of course Sam's canine senses could feel Castiel's shame.

 _"_ _Cas… you know you've got nothing to feel guilty about, right?"_ Sam murmured, voice still low. Castiel swallowed.

_"_ _Of course."_

"Quiet," Dean whispered, holding out a hand behind him as the group came to a stop at the line of hedges separating Circe's house from her neighbor's. The hunter knelt down as the dogs pressed in tightly along the verge. All eyes turned to the empty driveway. Nothing moved; only now did Castiel register that there were no animals in the immediate vicinity at all, not so much as a field mouse.

It made sense, of course. Animals would be able to detect that there was something off about her, and maintain a distance. But it was unnatural, and eerie even to the angel.

"Look," Dean murmured as he jerked his chin towards the home. "No lights on. She's not home yet. We gotta hurry."

Castiel hurried behind Dean as the hunter led the way up to the porch, standing guard while his friend knelt in front of the door to pick the lock. Sam had told him that Circe was out posting flyers and looking as far as several towns over, but surely she would return home for the night. The angel wondered if Lucifer had caught up with her yet, but quickly decided that he must not have; if the archangel had found Circe, she would be dead and they would be in their natural forms once more.

"Hah, now we're in business," Dean muttered. The lock clicked and he leaned away, giving the door a gentle push so that it swung in with a whisper. Castiel pushed his way past the human, hurrying across the threshold and looking around with suspicion.

 _"_ _Cas?"_ Sam called from behind them. The angel shook his head.

_"_ _All clear. I don't sense her presence."_

"Whatever you said, I'm sure it was helpful," the older Winchester grumbled, ushering the other two dogs in so he could shut the door and lock it again. The group headed towards the living room, Dean stopping as they passed the kitchen so he could grab another knife, sticking it in his belt. Zorro wiggled down under the chair, finally silent but still panting in what Castiel bemusedly identified as excitement. Sam positioned himself in a low crouch by the kennel, while Dean and Castiel took up their posts against the near wall so they would be able to come in from behind once Zorro had the goddess distracted.

Castiel released a short huff, settling in though his jaws were clenched and his eyes narrowed in preparation.

Now they just needed to wait.

* * *

Castiel couldn't quite see the clock from his position, but he knew it must have been at least an hour that they had been sitting in utter silence in the darkened living room. While the angel had little concept of time, as it was hardly important for an immortal being, he was getting concerned about how long Sam would hold out.

So far, he'd had to all but shout at Sam to pay attention only once, but he could tell his friend was having a harder and harder time clinging to his human mind. Were it anyone but the intelligent young Winchester, Castiel was certain they would already be lost.

 _"_ _No offense, amigos, but this is getting kinda boring, know what I'm saying?"_ Zorro whined, rolling over on his back and wiggling a bit to give it a good scratch. _"When's she gonna be here? How do you know she's even coming back? Think she already knows we're here? What about-"_

 _"_ _Quiet,"_ the angel snapped, raising his head and sniffing intently. His eyes narrowed. Zorro instantly fell silent, and Castiel twisted towards Dean to give him a nod.

She was here.

Dean nodded back, fist tightening around the machete he carried, reaching back to make sure the knife from Circe's kitchen was still tucked into his belt. Across the darkened room, Sam growled softly; Castiel could hear a light shuffling of paws on carpet as the younger hunter crouched in preparation.

Outside, a car door slammed, but the rest of the night was absolutely silent. Castiel's frown deepened. This goddess would pay for attempting to harm his friends.

"Ready," Dean whispered, voice barely a breath. For a moment, all of time was poised on an edge, just waiting as almost undetectable footsteps clacked on the pavement outside. There was a metallic jangle of a key turning a lock, then a whoosh of displaced air as the goddess entered the home. Castiel's paws shifted, razor sharp claws ready to do whatever he had to.

From the front hall, they heard a light thump, then finally she was headed their way. Castiel looked to Dean, who gave him another nod.

Then, at last, Circe stepped through the doorway and flicked on the light.

 _"_ _Gotcha!"_ Zorro shouted with all his tiny lungs. He shot out from under the chair, yapping and growling at full volume as he dashed for Circe's ankles.

"What the-" Circe ground out, tripping backwards in surprise. "Why, you little…" The goddess danced away, shrieking in fury.

_"_ _Fear the mighty hunter! I'll take you down myself for hurting Sam-"_

"I'll kill you, you little beast!"

Castiel was already moving when he saw her foot flash out, already leaping for her back as Circe kicked the Chihuahua, hard enough that the little dog was thrown across the room into the wall with an agonized yelp and a sickening thud. The angel couldn't spare a moment to worry for him, as he collided with Circe from behind only a second before Dean had reached them.

The three of them went down, Castiel's weight more than the goddess had been prepared for. She shrieked in rage again, then screamed as the angel's ferocious claws tore through her skin like paper. Metal flashed as Dean wielded the machete with a feral shout.

"Get away from me!" Circe bellowed, wrenching away from Castiel's weight. She was surprisingly strong, more so than the angel had been expecting, and he whined as the command forced him to release the goddess. Circe rolled out of the way just in time, Dean's strike landing harmlessly a few inches from her head.

 _"_ _Hold her!"_ Sam yelled. His furious barks added to the confusion, as Castiel snapped and snarled but couldn't get any closer because of her order. The room was thrown into chaos; Dean tried to recover from the missed strike, but Circe kicked out again with an enraged shriek. The machete went flying, and Dean jumped back to avoid her wildly scratching hands.

The hunter cursed, jerking the backup knife free. Castiel fought with everything he had to overcome the spell that forced him to obey her, slashing the carpet to pieces under his paws as he strained to dash forwards.

 _"_ _Dean!"_ he shouted. _"Dean, I can't get her! Cut her throat, NOW!"_

"Oh, I don't _think_ so!" Circe said, nearly crackling with anger as her eyes locked on Dean. "You're in _way_ over your heads, boys."

"Lady, this is just another day," Dean snorted. He held up the knife, but the element of surprise had already been lost. Not looking away from Circe, the hunter yelled, "Sam, now!"

"Sam, _stay_!"

Damn it. Castiel winced as the Golden Retriever paused halfway through his attack, slinking down to his haunches with a whimper. Now he and Sam were _both_ off the playing field, and Zorro was down for the count, judging by his still form along the wall. It was up to Dean.

The older Winchester narrowed his eyes, spinning the knife around to clutch it in an overhand grip, and gave the goddess a reckless grin. "Just you and me then, blondie," he snapped, before lunging forward.

Circe didn't even twitch. Her cold eyes burned into the hunter as she sidestepped and crossed her arms. There were icicles in her voice as she seethed,

"Sic him, Castiel."

_"_ _NO!"_

It was too late. The angel was already leaping forward, helpless against the order. There was nothing he could do to stop himself from tackling Dean to the floor, no way of keeping his own teeth from sinking all the way into his friend's leg.

Castiel would never forget Dean's cry of pain as he hit the ground, the knife clattering to the floor and bouncing out of reach. He would never forget the horrifying taste of flesh and blood. He would never forget the expression on his friend's face, the split second of betrayal even though they both knew it was Circe's finger on the trigger; Castiel had just been the bullet she'd used.

Jerking free, the angel backed up several steps, but the damage was done. The hunter lay on the floor, shaky hands reaching to prod at the bloody wound as he groaned.

"Shit…" Dean's face contorted in pain, his head falling back briefly before he tried to lift himself up with another moan. "Ah, _shit_."

 _"_ _Dean,"_ Castiel whimpered, taking another step back. _"I'm so sorry… I didn't- I mean, I couldn't…"_

 _"_ _It's not your fault, Cas,"_ Sam said in a hoarse whisper, though the angel could sense his own horror and dismay.

"Oh, it _is_ your fault!" Circe snarled with a thunderstorm already brewing in her eyes. "How foolish could you be, trying to attack me in my own home? You thought you could _kill_ me? ME? Sam, Castiel, _stay_!"

The Husky and the Retriever both froze, though Castiel's gaze flicked back over to Dean with sickened heartbreak. Logic dictated the actions of angels, not emotions; logically, he _knew_ he was not to blame. Emotionally, though, he felt like he was being torn apart, a hole in his chest at the knowledge of what he'd just done. Guilt seeped in, much like the blood seeping from the bite wound on Dean's calf.

Dean was glaring at the goddess, still defiant, still fighting, but Castiel saw the pain as he tried to sit upright. They had lost.

"I have _had_ it," Circe seethed, glaring around at her three captives. "You're far more trouble than you're worth, you filthy Winchesters. And _you…_ "

Castiel growled when her eyes roved over him, but he was frozen in place, unable to attack. He didn't like the baleful way her gaze zeroed in, didn't like the expression promising retribution. More than anything, he didn't like the way he had no way of stopping her.

The infuriated goddess strode over to the Husky, grabbing his muzzle in a bruising grip and jerking his face up to look at her. "You and I are going to have a _long_ chat," she hissed. "I'm done being nice. You're going to tell me _everything_ I want to know… in between _screams_."

"You aren't gonna _touch_ him!" Dean started to shift upright in Castiel's periphery, but Circe snapped her fingers and pointed at him.

"Sam, if he _blinks_ , rip his throat out!"

The Golden Retriever let out a soft whine as he obediently bounded across the room to loom over Dean, who froze. Castiel couldn't see him, but he sensed the distress from both of his friends. Trying to force his muzzle away from Circe so that he could demand that she release them, the angel only managed to tighten her grip.

 _"Circe, just stop this,"_ Sam pleaded, one paw on Dean's wounded leg in preparation to strike against his will if necessary. _"Listen… you've got me. Lucifer won't get his vessel, and that's all you really want, right? To prevent the Apocalypse? So you only need one of us. Let Dean and Cas walk out of here, PLEASE."_

Castiel made a muffled protest, knowing that if Dean could understand what Sam had just said, he'd be equally against the idea. Not that it mattered; he doubted Circe was all that inclined to allow any of them to walk away.

"Shut up, Sam!" the goddess ordered with an expression of rage. "You think _any_ of you are leaving now? Forget it! Neither of the archangels get their vessels, and I'm sure the other gods will be _very_ interested in what Castiel here can tell us. I'm sure he knows plenty of ways to kill the other feathered nuisances. Say goodbye to your brother and your angel, Sam! None of you are seeing each other again!"

"Don't do this," Dean growled. "We're on the same side, I'm telling you, we don't want the A-"

"The same side?! You try to kill me, but we're on the same side?!" Circe laughed with chilling disdain. There was a note of insanity in that laugh, and the air in the room dropped so fast that Castiel shivered. He could feel the gathering storm, as the goddess's fury grew.

The dog's eyes narrowed. She was sincere in her threat of torture, but he wasn't going to give her _anything_ that would help her murder his brothers and sisters. Even if they had cast him out, he couldn't turn on them.

When the second hand fell into his scruff, seizing a fistful so hard that his eyes watered, Castiel knew their time was up. His only consolation was that Dean and Sam were much more clever than Circe gave them credit for. In time, they would probably escape, and hopefully find one another again.

Castiel closed his eyes, and prepared for the worst.


	13. Chapter 13

There was nothing worse than being helpless to help the people he cared about, and Dean had been in that position too many damn times lately. He sat on the floor, leg throbbing, unable to even shift his weight or else his own brother would have no choice but to kill him. He couldn't do _anything_ to help Cas - _again_ \- and even though his friend was currently a Siberian Husky, Dean could see the torrent of emotions in the familiar blue eyes.

Stubbornness… regret… resolve… resignation. And if Dean wasn't mistaken, they were all going to be torn away from each other forever with the angel still stupidly thinking this was _his_ fault.

In front of him, Sam stood on guard, one paw resting on his leg and an expression of pleading on his furry face. Dean knew Sam was silently begging him not to move, because if he was the one to kill Dean, the younger hunter would never forgive himself, even though it wasn't his fault. Across the room, the little yapper was still unconscious; no help was coming from that direction.

Dean held still, but everything in him was screaming, when the front door burst open with the force of an earthquake.

"Hey, looks like I'm missing a party!" a chipper voice spoke up from the doorway. Even Circe paused, all heads swiveling in the same direction.

"You!" Dean snarled, fighting to keep still as he registered the newcomer. His mind whirled; had Gabriel been in on this all along!? He wouldn't put it past the archangel, who was hardly a friend. "Should have known _you_ were behind this!"

"What are you doing here, Loki?" Circe snapped. She didn't release Cas, but she'd straightened up, and the expression on her face didn't seem much happier than Dean felt... though if she was calling him Loki, he'd bet anything she didn't know her "pal" was an archangel.

Gabriel seemed completely unperturbed at the entire situation, a fact that pissed Dean off, as he swaggered into the room and looked around with a low whistle. "Boy, you really don't kid around. I'm here to collect."

"Collect?" Dean's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, _collect_?"

"We had a deal, Circe," the archangel went on, arms crossed as he ignored Dean completely. "You can keep the Winchesters, but I get the angel."

 _Cas_!? Dean's mouth dropped in horror as he traded a tense look with his furry brother. Son of a _bitch_! "You bastard," he snarled as Cas tried to wriggle free from Circe. "You stay away from him, you hear me?"

In the middle of the room, Circe released the angel at last, though her cold expression hadn't melted in the slightest. Cas didn't move, eyeing Gabriel with clear uncertainty. The archangel turned towards Dean, though, and the cocky grin shifted to a surprisingly genuine look of anger.

"And just what," he asked in a low growl as he took two steps towards the hunter, "do you think I'm going to do to him?"

"Why don't you tell _me_?" Dean was furious. The mere fact that Gabriel had arranged for Cas to be handed over to him said, if nothing else, he _knew_ Circe was after them, and hadn't done a damn thing to help. He'd probably helped orchestrate all of this! Dean didn't know why Gabriel wanted to take Cas, but there was no way he'd just abandon his best friend to the orchestrations of the Trickster's twisted imagination. Beside him, Sam let out a fierce bark that Dean knew was some sort of agreement.

"How about for starters, pulling him out of the mess that _you_ two dragged him into!" Gabriel snapped in reply. "Don't thank me or anything! Calm your tiny mind, Dean, I'm not going to hurt him."

There was another bark, this time from Cas. The angel leaped over, sliding between Dean and Gabriel. He snorted softly and shook his head. The archangel raised his eyebrows. Whatever Cas was saying, it seemed to take Gabriel by surprise, and Dean wished he could still understand the dogs.

"Sorry, you actually don't get a say in this," the archangel said. "I'm taking you with me."

"Oh, great plan, and then what? Keep him locked up forever?" Dean demanded. Apparently Cas was refusing to leave them, the warrior now taking a step back to more fully join the brothers in an obvious show of solidarity. If they weren't in so much trouble at the moment, Dean would have felt his heart warm at the gesture.

Gabriel only rolled his eyes. "Sure, make it sound like I'm the bad guy here."

Dean stared at him in incredulity, wanting nothing more than to remind him in no uncertain terms how things had gone the _last_ time they'd met, in his screwy TV world. Before he could, Sam whined softly and twisted to bump his nose against Cas. The angel looked at him with an answering whimper.

Though Dean couldn't understand the actual words, he could tell that Sam was for some reason siding with Gabriel. His gut instinct was to snap at his brother, because there was _no_ way they were going to just sit by and let their best friend get spirited away by this douche-nozzle. From the corner of his vision, he saw Circe slowly approaching, though, and something made him bite his tongue.

What choice did they actually have, he realized with frustration. He didn't like Gabriel and didn't trust him for one second. But… while he fully expected Gabriel to screw with Cas, he at least wasn't likely to torture the angel for information. Dean frowned, torn. It was all well and good for Gabriel to say he wasn't going to hurt Cas, but he'd just as quickly implied he'd take the angel by force if necessary. It still amounted to keeping him prisoner. And it wasn't like he was even _offering_ to help the two humans out of this whatsoever; he'd stand by and let Circe have them without a second thought.

But… Circe had nothing in store for the angel but pain at the hands of who knew how many pagan gods.

"Cas, maybe…" Dean swallowed, unable to believe he was about to say this. "Maybe you _should_ go with him."

Both Cas and Gabriel turned to him with surprise. Dean looked away, jaw tightening. There was also the small matter of the archangel's very valid point: they _had_ dragged Cas into this.

"You've got a way out," he muttered. "Take it, Cas, this might be your only chance. Just go."

With an indignant sounding snort, the angel tossed his head in refusal. Dean met his eyes once again, needing his best friend to see how serious he was. "I can't let her hurt you," he said, voice low as though Circe wouldn't hear him anyway. "Please… you're like a brother, Cas, this is my fault. You gotta get out of here."

Cas whined again, but Gabriel was staring between Dean and Sam in silent contemplation. The older Winchester shot him a glare to let the archangel know that this was _not_ a sign of trust or approval, just the lesser of two evils. Cas was still protesting in dog language, but a sudden crash and the sound of shattering glass cut any further conversation short. Dean jumped, whipping around to see Circe standing beside a now empty end table, scintillating shards of her decorative tchotchkes at her feet, hand still curled up in a fist.

Only now did Dean see that she had picked up the knife that he had dropped.

"You," she hissed, voice low and trembling with her pent up fury, "are not… going… _anywhere._ "

Sam barked then snarled, hackles rising, but the goddess ignored this completely. She took another step towards them, then grabbed Cas's nape once again, dragging him back towards her.

"Hey!" Dean snapped, starting to rise before remembering that she hadn't called Sam off yet. He froze, working his jaw in helpless rage. Even Gabriel had straightened back up with a veiled expression.

"Circe," he said, spreading his arms. "Babe, come on, we had a deal."

"We had a non-binding verbal agreement at best," she spat back. The goddess looked ready to breathe fire. "I've _had_ it, Loki. I've had it with angels, I've had it with demons, I've absolutely had it with this whole damn Apocalypse! I'm done with it, and I'm going to kill every single one of those self-righteous angels… starting with _this_ one!"

"Babe… you shouldn't say things like that."

Gabriel sounded serious now. Dean and Sam both looked back and forth between him and Circe warily, like watching a tennis match.

"Oh?! And why, pray tell, is that?"

"Because," he replied as he stepped towards her. "I might take you seriously. Circe, I told you, you don't want to get involved with this. You don't want any part of it. Now come on, for old time's sake-"

"No! I'm _done_!" She moved with the supernatural speed of a goddess, twisting the hand in Cas's fur and jerking up so that he stood as tall on all fours as he could, and pressing the knife blade close to his throat. Dean felt his heart seize; that blade _shouldn't_ have been able to kill Cas, but he also _should_ have been able to fly, or smite her, or change them back into humans. At the very least, that knife was going to hurt like a bitch.

Sam barked a high pitched sound of distress; no one moved. Gabriel's arms were still spread, hands out in placation.

"Give me the angel. You said I could have him-"

"Oh, you can have him," the goddess seethed. "As soon as we're finished. We're gathering, Loki, all the pagan gods. These three are coming with me. We'll put Sam and Dean on opposite sides of the world, keep them locked up so tight that they'll never be found, and see how the archangels do without their precious vessels! And then, we're going to sit Castiel down and he's going to answer some questions. And we're going to rip him apart, until he tells us what we need. He's going to tell us everything about the angels. He's going to tell us exactly how to kill them. And then he'll tell us all kinds of things that we don't even care about, just to make the pain stop, and when there's _nothing_ left in his head that we don't know…"

Circe's eyes burned with crazed flames as she dug the knife blade deeper into Cas's fur, the angel whimpering with discomfort.

"…then you can have whatever's left of him."

 _Oh god…_ Dean swallowed hard, trading another horrified look with Sammy. Circe wasn't bluffing.

"Take him," he whispered, voice directed at Gabriel. "Even if she kills us. Get him out-"

"He's not going _anywhere_!"

There was a flash of silver and then a frantic, agonized yelp that tore through Dean's heart. He shouted at the same time that Sam whipped around with a howl. The enormous Husky slumped to the floor, snuffling in pain with every exhale; blood was already coating the soft grey fur on his side.

"Cas? Cas!" Dean yelled. "Cas, hold on!" He tried to shift forward, but Sam whirled back around again with a whine and bright fear shining in his eyes. Dean gritted his teeth and fell still, but Gabriel was already at the angel's side.

"Relax, he'll heal himself," Circe said with a sneer, holding up the knife that was now dripping with Cas's blood. "That's what makes this so much fun."

Dean didn't say a word, fuming inside, as he curled his fists and watched Gabriel run a hand over the wounded dog with surprising gentleness. Light—soft and healing light—poured from beneath his palm, closing up the bloody gash. The labored breathing eased. Cas tilted his head up towards the archangel, butting his nose against Gabriel's cheek. Dean exhaled in sharp relief, but his gaze shot instantly to the goddess.

Circe took a step back, eyes locked on Gabriel with shock and incomprehension. Gabriel straightened slowly, and only now did Dean truly see how well the archangel _did_ fit Cas's description of Heaven's most terrifying weapon. The goddess shook her head, taking another step back.

"How did you- But, I don't- Loki?"

"I didn't want it to go like this," the archangel said, low and deep. He dropped his hand, and his silver blade slid out with a light ring. "We had some laughs, Circe, and I tried as hard as I could to protect you, but no one… _no one_ … messes with my little brother but me."

"Your _what_?"

Gabriel swooped forward, archangel blade nothing but a flash. Dean jumped slightly, eyes wide in shock, as Circe grunted in surprised pain. Light poured out from the wound in her chest, a faint ringing in the air. She looked up at Gabriel with confusion in her gaze. The archangel was nothing but a marble statue as she clung to him, more and more light starting to beam out of her body, and the goddess shook her head.

"But…"

"Sorry, lover." Gabriel jerked his blade free, and the goddess exploded into a brilliant flash of light, before leaving the room in silence.


	14. Chapter 14

Dean blinked a couple of times, trying to clear his vision after the blinding flash had subsided. His leg was still throbbing and his heart was still pumping double time in adrenaline mode, but his head was ringing with one simple fact: it was over. Circe was dead.

"Son of a bitch," the hunter murmured, running a hand down his face as his sight returned a bit at a time. The first thing he was aware of was that there was no longer a paw on his leg, but a hand.

The second thing he was aware of was the rather uncomfortable fact that unlike him and Cas, Sam apparently hadn't been wearing anything when Circe changed him. Dean cleared his throat and looked up at the ceiling.

"Uh… Sam?"

His brother shifted, groaning a bit as he pushed himself up off the floor. From Dean's periphery, he could see Sammy freeze suddenly, and the older Winchester had to bite back a smirk as Sam swore and stumbled up to his feet, teetering back towards the bedroom as fast as he could.

Dean's amusement drained away in a flood of worry as his eyes turned next to Cas. To his relief, the angel was once again in his natural vessel, tan overcoat not even rumpled as he climbed to his feet. There was no sign that he'd been injured at all. Despite Dean's reluctance to even _think_ of Gabriel as a good guy, he had to acknowledge that the archangel had saved their asses.

Or, more specifically, he'd saved Cas's ass, and the Winchesters had been collateral.

"Cas? Hey, you okay?" Dean asked, gruff with wariness as he eyed Gabriel, who was watching him in return with surprising silence instead of the usual sass.

"Yes, I seem to be back to normal," Cas returned.

There was a flutter of wings, and the warrior angel was kneeling at his side. Dean grimaced as they both looked at his bleeding leg. A clearly defined set of teeth marks stood out red against the dark denim, throbbing like mad.

"It's fine," Dean grumbled. "Seriously."

"Dean, I am… so sorry."

Hating the way Cas sounded so damn guilty, the hunter waved him off. "Trust me," he said with a snort. "This is nothing. I'd take a dog bite over the usual crap any day."

"Yes, but…"

The angel trailed off. Dean looked up at him, cocking an eyebrow up. "What?"

"I did this."

"Dude, it wasn't you," Dean insisted, forcing himself to clamber up to his feet, to prove that he was just fine. "Circe made you. Nothing you could do about it. Hey, at least you only went for the leg, right?" Besides, how was he supposed to be mad, when he could still hear Cas's cry after Circe _stabbed_ him? Dean shuddered. He hated being in Gabriel's debt, but it was worth it to still have Cas with them.

"I suppose," Cas replied, but he looked away quickly enough for Dean to know he still wasn't so sure. Nevertheless, the angel gave himself a quick shake and reached a hand out to touch Dean's head. The hunter blinked as the pain in his leg was wiped away like it had never been there at all. He looked down, nodding in satisfaction to see that the wound was gone.

"Thought you couldn't really do the whole healing thing anymore."

"I can't," Cas admitted, looking over his shoulder towards the silently watching archangel. "But Gabriel used enough healing grace that there was some left over in me to fix you."

Oh. Dean couldn't help but smirk as he saw Gabriel's mouth twist in irritation, obviously not thrilled to have indirectly done the hunter any favors. That was oddly satisfying.

"Thanks, Cas." Dean grinned, then twisted towards Sam as his brother rejoined them, thankfully clothed, but with a red face. "Good to have you back, Sammy."

Sam cleared his throat and nodded. "Uh… yeah, good to be back." He scratched his head, surveying the room, gaze roving Dean and Cas up and down as though scanning for signs of further damage. Seeming satisfied, he turned next to Gabriel with an expression equal to Dean's own suspicion.

"So, uh… not that I'm not grateful-" he began, but Gabriel moved at last, swaggering forward with a displeased glare.

"Save it, Samsquatch. I just had to ice one of my favorite girls because of you, and I swear to Dad if you _thank_ me for that, I'll throw you right to Lucifer myself."

"Gabriel," Cas spoke up, stepping forward to meet his brother. Dean watched the angel, but Cas didn't seem wary so much as puzzled. "Where have you been? I've been looking all over for you. Did you not hear me calling out?"

"Yeah, I did," Gabriel replied with an easy shrug. Cas seemed crestfallen, and that, more than anything, made Dean want to punch that dick archangel right in the face.

Though, he'd probably just break his hand.

"Then I don't understand," Cas said, sounding truly hurt. "You knew I was trying to find you. Gabriel, you can help stop this. You may be the only one who can contend with Michael and Lucifer-"

"I'm not gonna 'contend' with anyone, bro," Gabriel snapped. "I've said it a million times, I'm staying out of this. You need to do the same. This plan of yours, to stop the Apocalypse? It's _suicide_. Look at you, Castiel, you've been walking around as a _dog_ all day. You can't even stop one minor goddess, how are you going to take on archangels, huh?"

"Hey!" Dean growled as he saw the angel's already hurt look turn even more downcast at the blunt reminder of his lack of power. The hunter stepped forward, but stopped short as Gabriel raised a hand to point at him.

"This is your fault, both of you stupid Winchesters. He'd follow you two bozos anywhere, you get that, right? You're going to take him down with you, like you almost did just now, and then I'm _really_ gonna be pissed!"

"Gabriel, stop," Cas said as Dean narrowed his eyes. "I know what I'm doing."

Dean wanted, more than anything, to argue with the archangel, to tell Gabriel in no uncertain terms that he was wrong. But despite Cas's conviction, Circe's threat against him rang in the hunter's head once again, and the best he could muster was a stony glare at Gabriel before looking away, arms folded.

There was a short silence; from the way Sam was shifting around and avoiding eye contact, Dean was sure his brother was feeling the same things. Finally, Gabriel rolled his eyes and some of the tension in the room seemed to ease away.

"You know… I had you two pegged. Selfish and cold-blooded. You care more about saving each other than you do the whole world, the only thing that matters is _you_ two. So I gotta ask… why the change of heart back there?"

This time, Dean frowned in confusion, shaking his head. "You wanna elaborate?"

"You told me to take Castiel. You do get that would have meant losing your magical, heavenly butler, right? Not to mention facing the whole damn Pantheon on your own."

"Wait, our _what_?!" Sam demanded, taking a step. "Is that what you think?"

"What does he know, Sammy?" Dean snarled. His hands balled into fists, flooded with desire to slug the archangel once again. "Bastard thinks everyone else is just something to use or screw around with, what would he know about _family_ and _loyalty_?"

"'Scuse me?" Gabriel's eyes grew cold. Cas was in between them in a flash, hands spread between Gabriel and the Winchesters, looking wary. Gabriel pushed past, but Dean refused to back down. "Watch your mouth, Winchester. Unless you want to find yourself dying every day in an endless loop again. That was kind of fun."

"No, watch _your_ mouth!" Dean was yelling now, treading in dangerous territory, but he didn't even care. "If you think Cas is just a… a magic _butler_ or whatever, then you don't know shit! Cas is family, and the only reason I'd even _consider_ letting you near him is to save his life! If that means we don't get to see him again, that sucks like a bitch, but at least he'd be alive!"

Try as he might, Dean couldn't stop his voice from breaking ever so slightly, wishing he could forget Gabriel's accusation that they were taking Cas down with them. Shoot, the angel had already lost his home, and his power was draining away more every day. Cas was going to lose everything, and it _was_ their fault, any way he looked at it.

Seemed like a piss-poor way to thank someone for rescuing him from Hell.

Now he was all damn emotional, but the expected quip from Gabriel about it never came. Instead, the archangel was giving him a shrewd look, while Sam nodded in silent agreement to his brother's words.

"Dean," Cas said with a sigh, but the hunter cut him off.

"No, I'm serious! You're like a brother to us, but… Cas, you gotta understand, me and Sammy, we're bad luck. Always have been. We're cursed, man, and the thought of you getting dragged down too, just for sticking by us… Just be sure you know what you're getting into, siding with us. You've already been kicked outta your home-"

"Dean, stop." The warrior angel straightened, blue eyes gleaming with lightning. "I knew the risk, and the probable end. If I survive this, it'll be a miracle. If I don't, then it's nothing more than a soldier expects when they pick up a sword. I made my choice, and I made it for a reason. You can't hold yourself responsible for that."

No one said anything. Though Dean's heart was lightened by the angel's steadfastness, he also felt the heaviness of the truth behind the words. They would _all_ be lucky to survive this. Gabriel looked from one face to the next, the moment hanging in thick gloom, before he finally shrugged.

"Well, that's that, then," he announced, as chipper as the moment he'd walked in. The shift made Dean's head spin, and he stared at the archangel. Gabriel raised an eyebrow. "What? I think he's being an idiot, but there's nothing I can do to change that one's mind. Believe me, he's as stubborn as they come, and I should know. Just watch your back, Castiel. I don't wanna have to keep playing the knight in shining armor, got it?"

Cas almost smiled, nodding. Dean was still looking between the two, then traded a confused look with Sammy.

"Uh… just like that?" Sam asked.

"Yeah," Dean agreed. "Call me crazy but aren't you letting us win a little easy this time? I mean, not that I'm complaining… but you were all gung-ho to leave with Cas, now you're just gonna let us walk?" It didn't add up, this Gabriel and the one who'd locked them all in TV land. Dean shook his head. "So all that about not wanting to hurt him…?"

"Dean," Cas cut in, turning to his friend—and leaving his back exposed to Gabriel in the process, Dean couldn't help but notice with a grimace. "Do you really think I would have spent so much time trying to find Gabriel if I thought he would attack again?"

"So, what, we're supposed to trust him now?" Sam demanded, which summed up Dean's thoughts on the matter as well.

Gabriel didn't seem to take offense, merely grinned and shot back, "I wouldn't if I were you." Then he sobered and looked between the two Winchesters before offering one final warning: "Just don't ever forget… he was my brother long before he was yours."

Huh. Dean eyed Gabriel, but the archangel seemed to be serious. Though Dean had heard Cas refer to the other angels as his brothers before, he hadn't gotten the overwhelming impression that any of the others _really_ felt the same, or at least they didn't act like it.

But Gabriel _had_ healed Cas, and he _had_ ganked Circe once he realized that she really was going to hurt the angel.

Son of a bitch… Gabriel meant it.

Relenting, Dean slowly nodded. He would have done the same for Sammy, after all, and he had a feeling Gabriel knew the trials of being a big brother, something Dean hadn't considered from the Trickster before.

A soft whine interrupted the conversation. All four turned towards the back of the room, where Dean had almost forgotten about the Chihuahua, but it appeared he needn't have worried. The little guy was up on his feet again, staring at Gabriel with bigger eyes than such a small face should hold.

"Aw, shit, Zorro!" Sam exclaimed, hurrying forward and kneeling down to run a hand over the Chihuahua, feeling for anything broken. "Hey, you were great, buddy. You alright?"

The little dog whimpered a bit, but never pulled his gaze away from Gabriel. He yapped a couple of times and cocked his head.

"Yes," Cas said, apparently an answer to something. His mouth twitched as he glanced at Gabriel, too, whose grin stretched wider. "It is. The only one of the four I'd say you were _lucky_ to meet."

In a scrambling of paws and a streak of brown, the yapper bolted towards the archangel. Dean stared, wondering for a crazy moment if the dog had gone insane and was attacking, but even he could tell that the strident barks were ecstatic, not aggressive. The hunter traded a look with his brother, then watched as the Chihuahua leaped up and down in the air a couple of times, then galloped in crazed circles around Gabriel.

"I take it he's a fan?" Dean asked Cas, who apparently couldn't contain a smile of his own, and that said something.

"Um… yes. You could say that."

The Chihuahua finally came to a stop, standing in front of the archangel and looking up at him with tail wagging so hard that his back paws had to keep shifting so that he didn't fall right over. He yapped something up at Gabriel, who raised his eyebrows.

"El Poderoso?" he said, putting on a dramatic expression. "No… Zorro el _Majestico_!"

Zorro's resultant barks were practically howls of joy, the little Chihuahua falling over on his back and wriggling around with such elation that it was wearing Dean out just to watch. Scrambling up on his trembling paws, Zorro ran another few circles and then dashed to the couch and peed all over the leg, shaking with excitement.

Dean rolled his eyes. Friggin' dogs.

"Oh… uh…" Sam cleared his throat, unable to hide his amusement while Dean pointed at him and frowned.

"And this is exactly why there's no dogs in the car, got it? I _told_ you, they get hyper and pee on everything! So don't get any ideas!"

"Don't worry about them, nobody likes Dean," Gabriel informed the Chihuahua, who barked in what sounded a little too much like agreement. The hunter glared at the dog, but was ignored. Instead, Zorro trotted back over to Gabriel, who patted his chest. "Come on, boy, up here."

Zorro jumped, the archangel catching him and holding the dog cradled in his arms. "As it happens, I _do_ have a position open for one hermano, myself. How about it, Zorro?"

The Chihuahua snuggled closer to Gabriel, whimpering with delight, and Gabriel laughed. He turned back to the hunters and tipped them a sarcastic salute. "I'll take care of this bro… you take care of mine," he growled. "Watch yourself, Castiel."

Cas nodded with grave solemnity, a stark contrast to the archangel's smirk. Gabriel winked, and then he was gone.

"Wait- thank you!" Sam yelled after them, but there was no reply.

The silence that followed was so peaceful that Dean hated to break it, shoving his hands in his pockets as he looked around the room. Through a crack in the blinds covering the window, he could just see a glint of daylight peeking through, bringing a new day.

Thank goodness, because the last one had pretty much sucked.

When his eyes drifted back to Cas, Dean saw that the angel was already watching him, a light frown decorating his face in an expression of worry. The hunter raised his eyebrows in question. Cas took a deep breath, then said,

"Dean, I'm… I'm sorry for biting you."

This again? Dean waved him off, shaking his head. "Don't worry about it, Cas. It's really nothing. Besides, all the times we keep putting you in harm's way…" The hunter shrugged and looked away. "Hell, I probably deserved that."

"Dean…" The angel canted his head, looking at him with more forgiveness than Dean could stand. The moment was becoming uncomfortably emotional. Forcing a half-smile to his face, the older Winchester cleared his throat.

"Anyway, it's all good. But Sammy… next time you meet a hot blonde in a bar… Just don't."

His younger brother glared at him, though he also nodded in fervent agreement. Together, the three turned towards the door, trudging a bit from sheer exhaustion, but still on their feet. That was something.

Outside, the air was fresh and crisp, carrying a blessedly muted array of scents. Dean didn't smell squirrels anymore, thank god, and the fire hydrant on the corner held no temptation at all. He led the way towards the road they'd stashed the Impala on.

"Oh, so I gotta ask," the hunter said, glancing sideways at his little brother. "Lucifer made it sound like he'd caught you…?"

Sam shuddered, which didn't make Dean feel any better. "Um… yeah," he muttered. "Just for a moment. He didn't have time to... you know, do anything. I got away pretty quick."

"How?"

There was a pause, and suddenly it looked like Sam was trying to hide a smile. "Actually, I, uh… I bit him."

Dean and Cas both stopped, turning to look at the younger hunter. Dean wondered if he'd just misheard, the image both horrifying and hilarious.

"You- you _bit…_ the Devil?"

Sam kicked the ground, hands in his pockets as he shrugged. "It seemed like a good idea at the time. Did kinda have the element of surprise, anyway."

"Yes," Cas agreed, nodding wisely. "I would venture to say that doesn't happen to Lucifer very often. He must have been… quite startled."

"Huh." Dean started walking again, biting back a grin as he imagined this. It was too much, though. He choked back a couple of snickers, but before too long he was laughing, and the other two joined soon after.

It was probably nothing more than a sign of how tired all three of them were, to find the situation as funny as it suddenly seemed. Still, as their laughter echoed through the early morning mist, Dean knew with a lightened heart that no matter what kind of crazy shit they would face today, there was no one in the world he would rather have by his side.


	15. Epilogue

Gabriel didn't bother with the whole subtlety thing as he strode right past the demons guarding the front door. He could see their stares, could feel their goggling eyes following him all the way down the hall towards the inner room. No one stopped to challenge him, obviously, as they surely recognized his awesome power and were rightfully terrified.

The archangel smirked a bit as he reached his destination, feeling his brother's power radiating from the house's core. Zorro el Poderoso had wanted desperately to be there as backup so Gabriel wouldn't be in Luci's nest alone - which amused and touched the archangel to no end - but he didn't want the bold little dog anywhere near his brother or so many demons. Gabriel flicked a finger at the door that stood between him and Lucifer, knocking it inwards on its hinges, then swaggered straight on through.

The inner room was spacious and open, lined with demons, but the far end was occupied solely by a large wooden chair. There, at last, was the very one Gabriel had been hoping to have a chat with. The door opening in such an unexpectedly violent manner had the demons whipping around to find the source of the noise, but Gabriel only grinned.

"'Scuse me, gents," he said as though he were merely cutting in on a particularly fine dance partner. "Need a moment, thanks."

"Who are you?" one of the demons demanded. It shifted, as though actually about to attack, but Gabriel didn't even bother to spare it a glance. His eyes locked on Lucifer, seated in the chair with only a raised eyebrow to show any sort of surprise to see his "deceased" little brother strolling through his door.

"Gabriel," the archangel said, tilting his head slightly as one corner of his mouth curled up. "So I was right. I thought that was you I felt, two steps behind." He paused as Gabriel walked right up to the chair, then added, "It's good to see you, brother."

"Nice throne," Gabriel returned, looking the large chair over with an unimpressed eye. Throwing formalities to the wind, the archangel looked up at his older brother and demanded, "Was it you?"

Lucifer frowned. "Beg your pardon?"

"Was. It. You?" Gabriel demanded, crossing his arms. "Castiel. You remember him, right? I saw his blood on the floor of that pound. I wanna know who put it there, that's all."

The older archangel stared at him, a twitch of confusion in his bright eyes. Gabriel didn't break the stare-down, his jaw set. He could tell he'd thrown Lucifer for a loop, but he wasn't leaving until he had an answer.

"The Apocalypse is looming," the fallen archangel finally said. "Battle lines are being drawn, destiny itself is about to be fulfilled, and you're here because Castiel had a boo-boo?"

"I'm here because somebody hurt my brother," Gabriel snapped. "I'm trying to find out who."

"And if it was me?"

Gabriel didn't draw his weapon, but his glower deepened. He was pretty sure Lucifer couldn't have cared less about Castiel being hurt, just like Michael wouldn't have cared less, and the trickster archangel would have liked to smack both of them right upside the head. "Was it?"

Lucifer huffed in exasperation, rolling his eyes. "No, Gabriel. I didn't harm a hair on his head, I promise. I don't even know where he is… since my demons are incompetent morons. Odd, though, by the time I tracked down the pagan whore, she was already dead. But I'm sure you wouldn't know anything about that?"

"I took care of it." Damn, it was hard to keep his cool. Gabriel still felt the regret of having to kill Circe, but making him choose between her or his brother had been a fatal mistake. There was no contest.

The older archangel's jaw tightened. "So Castiel and Sam…?"

"Both back to normal, long gone," Gabriel assured him with a smirk, satisfied to see Lucifer sigh in frustration.

"So you're working for Michael?"

Gabriel stiffened, and this time there was true darkness in his glare. "For Michael?" he repeated with a scornful snort. "No, idiot. I'm not. And before you try out your sales pitch, don't bother… I'm not working with you, either. In fact, that's why I'm here."

"Is that supposed to make sense?"

"Listen, bro… this squabble between you and Michael? _Keep_ it between you and Michael. Got that? Leave Castiel out of this."

Lucifer stared at the younger archangel, shaking his head in disbelief. "You realize that Castiel came after _me_."

"I'm sorry," Gabriel drawled with a sarcastic roll of his eyes. "I didn't realize little, graceless Cassie was such a threat to an _archangel_ that you had to beat up on him _._ "

"Watch it, little brother."

There was an insidious note of anger slipping in to the cool annoyance, and while Gabriel didn't fear his brother, he also wasn't there to deepen any of the rifts between them. He shrugged, not backing down, but easing his tone a bit as he finished,

"If you and Michael are so _desperate_ to have this fight, then, you know what, I can't stop it. But our _family_ is in the crossfire from this pissing contest, you get it? Your and Michael's little temper tantrum is hurting them. Not just Castiel. All the lesser angels. _You_ were the one who thought they were being treated so unfairly with the whole humans thing, so prove that you care about them. Leave them out of this. I'm tired of seeing my kid brothers and sisters get hurt, Luci. Why do you think I left in the first place, you twat? Leave Castiel alone. We've lost enough."

Silence fell as Lucifer regarded him. Gabriel held his gaze, hoping his big brother would just listen for a change, though odds of that were slim to none. He could feel the other archangel's anger fading somewhat, which was encouraging. Finally, Lucifer shook his head and gazed upwards.

"You always did have a soft spot for the odd ones."

"Castiel is different. He doesn't do what he's told… I like him," Gabriel agreed with a grin.

"You would. But Gabriel, you should reconsider," Lucifer suddenly said, leaning forward now with an intense gaze as he caught the younger archangel's eye. "Stay with me. Fight with me. We could end this, you and me. We both want the same thing… peace for our kindred."

Gabriel snorted, giving his brother an insolent smirk. "Trust me, we don't want the same thing. I'm not on your side. But I _will_ protect my brothers. You got that?" Gabriel paused, then grimly finished, "Against _anything_ that tries to hurt them. That includes Michael… and _you_."

Lucifer studied him for a moment, then leaned back with a disappointed sigh. If nothing else, Gabriel knew his brother would respect his decision, wouldn't push the matter—for now, at least. The discussion over, Gabriel turned to go.

"Gabriel."

He looked over his shoulder. Lucifer reached behind the throne, grabbing something and dragging it forward to the floor next to him, a vicious burn in his cool gaze as he said only, "The demon you wanted."

Gabriel cocked his head, seeing an enormous Doberman cowering there. It looked like Circe's work, but… "Shouldn't he be back to normal, too?"

"He was for a moment," Lucifer replied with a shrug. "But he was useless either way, so I decided to keep him as a dog. You might as well take him."

So this was the one who had wounded Castiel? That made sense… Gabriel could visualize the scene, and his expression turned dark. He was at the Doberman's side with a flap of wings, picking the terrified demon up by the scruff like he was no bigger than Gabriel's new Chihuahua pal.

 _"Wait!"_ the demon cried, trying to struggle away. _"No, wait, please! I-"_

"Thanks," Gabriel said to Lucifer; that one word held the demon's death sentence. Lucifer nodded with a careless wave of his hand.

"I'll see you again, Gabriel."

"I hope not."

With the squirming demon held fast in his grip, heading for a long, painful demise for daring to hurt Gabriel's little brother, the archangel disappeared.

…But he would be watching.


End file.
